Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny
by Geor-sama
Summary: The war has come to a resounding end, with Uzumaki Naruto emerging as the victor against the forces of Akatsuki. However, instead of waking up to victory and peace, he awakens in a world where everything is different and all he loves is gone.
1. Authors Notes

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So, as I explained on my profile, this is an attempt at distracting myself and removing my writers block. To this extent I don't know how often the updates will come, probably once a month, I do promise that even should I break through my writers block on the other stories I won't forget about this one. Also as I mentioned in my profile, I'm making this story a bit more 'interactive' in that I will occasionally post a poll to allow the readers to decide certain things (There's one already up, so go give it a whirl).

Now, all of that being said there are a few things I need to address before you read the first chapter.

**Edited 10-1-11:** I've changed a few things around and figured I'd alter this notice to reflect the changes.

1) While Naruto and Claymore are both manga from Japan they are fundamentally different in terms of both story tone and the cultures that they portray: Claymore is serious in subject matter and portrays a European culture while Naruto on the other hand is more light-hearted and portrays a Japanese-style Culture. Now neither of these cultures are radically different in terms of overall themes, though at first glance they can appear to be so.

So as to be expected, there are a few problems in trying to cross such stories with each other. One of them, unsurprisingly, would be language. I could have gone in the most obvious direction by having the two worlds speak entirely different languages, which would be most likely in a real-life experience of crossing worlds and cultures, but instead I choice to make this easier on both myself and the reader. To this end, I decided that though the odds were slim, the two worlds would share frighteningly similar languages with only certain words being alien to the others.

For example, Yoki/Yoma is something that would be unique to the Claymore world while Chakra/Jinchūriki would be words that belonged to the Naruto World. It also opens the possibility that since some words are close enough to sound similar 'Shinobi/Senshi' for example, that some people can take the other language as an 'older dialect'. Still doing this makes it easier to carry the narrative while also allowing for the feeling that these two languages really are different.

_**Addendum 10-1-11:**_ To further help create the illusion of similar but different languages, I've decided to shake things up. If you're reading a scene from Naruto's POV then the Claymore-verse speaks in a modified form of Elizabethan English. Conversely If from a Claymore-verse POV Naruto speaks in a modified form of 'current' English, with a few words thrown back to their original etymological roots (i.e. Human becomes 'Humain'). Rest assured however, that provided characters are from the same 'universe'/'time period' they speak normal English and this language barrier will disappear after a time skip.

2) Another thing I had to consider is how exactly some characters would stack up to others. For example, I doubt the average Shinobi -Genin, Chūnin- would be able to match a Yoma while on the other hand Jōnin and Kage would be a different story. To solve this I had to come up with a 'scale' or 'exchange' so that I could put things into perspective:

Jōnin (Special or otherwise) equal Claymores 47 - 6, A Kage (Hokage, Raikage, Tsuchikage, Mizukage) equal Claymores 5 -1, Pseudo-Jinchūriki (such as Sora) are the same as the average Yoma. The Jinchūriki for 1 - 5 Tailed Beasts would be equal to the average Voracious Eaters/Awakened Being, while the Jinchūriki for 6 - 8 Tailed Beasts equal The Abyssal Ones/the Destroyer. This leaves Madara and Naruto (two of three who -Naurto by the end of the manga- qualify as 'Gods') to equal Priscilla.

I know some might argue this scale, or maybe not, and yes for the most part it doesn't matter too much -the number of ninja in the Claymore world is limited to three- but this is the scale that I am working with.

_**Addendum 10-1-11:**_ After I started writing this story, around the second chapter, I realized that I didn't really explain my ranking system. Needless to say this upset a few people, so for any new readers let me explain.

The Ranking list was derived using 'chakra capacity' and 'physical ability'. Yes, if you add in ninjutsu, sealing, bloodline limits and genjutsu the ninja come out in the lead by a wide margin but I was not looking at any of that. I was merely looking how they would match up in the barest of terms.

I do however, I stand by my comment that the average Genin and Chūnin would not be much against a Yoma, mainly because I refuse to accept that Naruto's Group/generation represent the average Genin or Chūnin. If that was the case why would the Sandaime and etc be surprised when the Rookie 9 were nominated for the Chūnin Exams after only two months of active service? No, I find it far more likely that the Konoha 12 and the Suna Trio are an anomaly.

This isn't to say the average Genin and Chūnin wouldn't put up a decent fight, and they might even kill a few yoma but eventually they become meals for a yoma -or pack of yoma-.

As for the Jinchūriki of the Tailed beasts, there's really nothing to explain or adjust. Except for the following fact - Naruto is by far the most powerful being walking. As I mentioned earlier, I low balled Naruto when I first created my scale, but after writing a scene in Chapter 2 I realized my error. I've adjust this accordingly: in terms of power Priscilla, Teresa and Madara are the closet to his level and that is like saying the Moon is close to the Sun.

3) Characterization. This is a big one, at least as big as the first one...I'm reasonably sure, that after so long writing in the Naruto fandom I have their characterizations down well enough. Claymore however, is a different story, I have read the manga and seen the anime a few times but I've yet to try writing one of the characters so all I can do is my best. If I fail, let me know (nicely) and I do promise I shall try get better at this.

4) Religions, while it plays a small to negligible role in both series they do exist. If I fudge something in concerns of one or the others (Most likely the Claymore World as it's a bit vaguer) please forgive me.

That is pretty much all the details that I've had to consider, at least for the moment. Any further things or thoughts that occur to me will be posted at the bottom of a chapter.

_**Addendum 10-1-11:**_ As the story went on I found myself dealing with the religion of the Claymore-verse. It was in the form of a prayer, in which I made a reference to a Trinity and thus I felt the need to explain how I came up with this. After careful reading and re-reading of the manga, it appeared that in early chapters that these there were two separate and possibly competing theologies - The God of Rabona and the Twin Goddesses of Love.

However further thought I grew more inclined to think that God and the Twin Goddesses are all part of the same theology; Literally a Trinity. Now the exact nature of the theology this Trinity is something I haven't thought about in any deep seriousness. Religion plays a small if negligible role to the plot of my story I'm telling. Maybe if I grow bored enough I will write out a thesis on the subject; but probably not.

_**::Added Notes 10-1-11::**_

5) The Interlude (Extra) Chapters are short chapters that don't exactly fit the narrative flow of the next chapter, but they are scenes that fill the gap between Chapter 2 and Chapter 3. So instead of a 'full' chapter you get this an 'interlude' chapter. They will often fill a gap between chapters, expand some background details, or even explain a plot point.

6) Also, since we don't have much in the way of details concerning how the Administrative part of the Organization interacts or operates (or have much characterization), I tried my best to make something out of what we did have. If I screwed up anything or maybe got a character doing something they wouldn't let me know...nicely please.

7) Naruto's healing. All Jinchūriki have certain 'abilities' constantly active from birth (I term them Onijutsu) Gaara's Sand Shield is an example of this. These abilities are (hinted at) a permanent part of the host even should the Bijū be extracted, again we have Gaara as the example. All of this is important to know, as it proves that the Jinchūriki have been altered to grant these abilities thanks to the influence of their demons (making them a kind of Bloodline Limit, though if they can be passed on I have no idea).

Anyway, Naruto's accelerated healing is one such ability (along with seemingly limitless stamina and chakra) allowing him to recover from minor injuries within a few seconds to major injuries within a day. However, as has been seen in the manga and anime this accelerated healing can be enhanced even further thanks to the chakra of the Kyūbi, an example being his first fight against Sasuke at the Valley of the End: Naruto eventually took a Chidori to the shoulder/chest area (Sasuke shoved a hand of lightning through the front of his torso and it came out the back of his torso), which caused the Kyūbi chakra to flood into Naruto and healed the gaping fist-sized hole in a matter of seconds.

So the problem he now faces is that since Naruto underwent training so that he could seal off the influence of the Kyūbi, leaving Naruto with sole control over the vast chakra without the negative side-effects. But the drawback is that while he retains his accelerated healing it won't automatically be enhanced unless he intentionally draws on the Kyūbi chakra or Sage Chakra.

_**Original Addendum 6-23-11:**_

Also, while I fully apologize for the long wait in updates, don't expect regular updates for any of my fics. I had fully intended to resume my normal posting schedule this month, but unfortunately serious health issues struck me. I'm only just now feeling moderately well enough to resume some of my normal activities, I should soon be able to focus on my stories once more but my recovery is slow and I don't want to divide my focus too much.

However, should things take a sudden sharp turn for the worse I give Top permission to continue my stories.

That is all.

Geor-sama


	2. Chapter 1: First Encounter, Part 1

Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 01: ****First Encounter, Part 1**  
by Geor-sama

* * *

_"Can you do it?" Sasuke asked, with a faint smirk "Can you kill me?" _

_"I have to." Naruto said adopting a loose stance. "I can't let our friends die because of revenge." _

_"Hn, pretty words," Sasuke snarled "setting yourself up as the hero when you're really only continuing the betrayal of Konoha against the Uchiha!" _

_"The only person I'm betraying," Naruto growled ominously, eyes narrowing "is the person I swore to bring you back to. The person that loves you with all of her heart and who _**because**_ of that love couldn't kill you when she had the chance. That's who I'm _betraying_ Sasuke, and who I'm _**protecting**_...my most precious person." _

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto woke up with pain lancing through his body and a groan on his lips, but he would have been more surprised if the pain had not been there. It was an old friend, a companion that had been at his side all his life: sometimes as emotional pain and at other times physical. Mentally he shook it off, pain didn't matter when compared to the fact that he was still breathing – though why exactly that was so surprising escaped him for a moment.

Clenching his eyes shut for a moment he pushed through the pain, shoving it into a small part of his mind so he could ignore it. Letting out a heavy breath he reopened his eyes, taking in what he could see of his surroundings with a calmness that he wasn't known for. Obviously he was a lying in a small clearing and it was night, but curiously he couldn't hear any insects or wild animals moving in the underbrush.

"What are you?" A feminine voice asked just beyond his feet.

Naruto twitched slightly from his spot on the ground, wondering how she had snuck up on him like that. Admittedly he was exhausted, hurt and more than a little out of it, but still he should have noticed her arrival before she said anything. Lifting his head, neck and shoulders screaming at him, he focused on her thankful that besides his enhanced healing, the presence of Kurama inside his body had left him with enhanced senses.

Despite this however, it was still hard to make out details, all he could see was that the woman was an ethereal beauty with long, wavy pale blonde hair wearing pieces of armor over a pale body suit with a cape and the large hilt of a sword visible over her right shoulder. It was almost a second hand realization when his own training told him that the way she was standing there was at once both casual and alert.

"Hi." Naruto managed nervously, trying to hitch a friendly grin to his face while mentally berating his reaction. He should have been past that when speaking with a pretty woman, especially women that seemed perfectly capable of causing him long-lasting physical harm. His smile disappeared a second later as the woman casually reached up and drew her sword, revealing a large sword that looked far more brutal than he would have preferred.

"What are you?" The woman asked once more, sword angled away from her body.

"Uh, a ninja?" Naruto asked, glancing uneasily between the sword and her. Sensing that his response didn't sit well with her, he tried again "Uhm, I'm Naruto the next Hokage of Konoha."

"What?"

"I'm a Shinobi." Naruto said slowly, wondering just how far he was from home. His name was pretty well known thanks to the war, but even then there should have been a reaction to the words Hokage and Konoha.

"You do have Yoki," The woman said slowly, as if considering something "you could be from the first Generation."

"Er...ok." Naruto said, easily figuring out that Yoki was this places term for Chakra, but the way she had said the term gave him good idea that it was similar to the chakra of Kurama. He made a mental note to ask Sakura, when sudden realization washed over him and it hit him that he had been fighting in a war-

"Are you part of the Organization?"

"Huh?" Naruto managed blinking stupidly at her, trying to grapple his thoughts and fractured memories under control. It was only belatedly that he realized that he was still lying on the ground and he really needed to get up. His thoughts were disrupted however, when he registered the fact that the woman was suddenly standing over him and her sword was descending from high over head toward him.

Swearing Naruto rolled to the side, avoiding the blade that buried itself in the ground and scrambled to his feet throwing a kick to her stomach as he did so. No sooner had he regained his feet and turned to face her, he was forced to duck under a slash at his head and jumped back, putting some distance between them. Landing with a skid his hand reached for his weapons pouch but found on a single kunai.

Brandishing his pitiful weapon, he eyed the woman who had paused momentarily, really not liking the odds he now faced. She was fast, her reflex's top-notch and she could take a hit: considering that his muscles were screaming, his breathing was labored and his chakra was at such an all time low he didn't dare try and call on Kurama's or attempt any real technique this was going to be an uphill battle all the way.

"You are skilled." The woman admitted, adjusting her sword slightly.

"I'm a Shinobi." Naruto said proudly, flashing a cocky grin and holding his head high "The greatest Shinobi to ever live."

She didn't respond verbally, but she suddenly disappeared from view with pseudo-motion. Eyes widening, he leaned back as the air stirred, the tip of the blade coming with an inch of his throat and then lifted a foot up to avoid the blades sweep at his ankle. Rebalancing as it came hurtling back at his mid-section; he kicked her hands hard forcing it back causing the woman to stumble from the sudden shift in momentum.

His opponent recovered however, pivoting around using the momentum to make another slash at his head. Naruto brought his kunai up, blocking the blow even as the impact sent him skidding away with such force that he almost fell over from it. Recovering from that particular clash, he shifted his stance in preparation for the next attack wishing he could call the fight off – but he doubted he could talk this woman out of whatever she was doing.

"So, do you have a name?" Naruto asked, hopeful that she would decide talking was the better option.

"You may call me a Claymore." The woman responded and suddenly she was gone in another blur of speed. Naruto pivoted and tried to stab her as she reappeared behind him, but she managed to twist aside. Naruto grimaced, but pressed his attacks, shifting tactics so that he could stay in close and keep her from freely using her sword but she soon enough realized his plan and slammed a fist into his chest sending him flying.

Pain flared to new levels from the blow, but he ignored it for the moment and let his shoulders fall back so that his weight carried lower. A second later his hand touched the ground and using his momentum and his hands performed a series of back flips before landing in a low crouch. He did not like the fact that she could apparently punch as hard if not harder than Sakura – then noticing the blade of his kunai blanched seeing the way it had nearly been sliced in half from blocking her earlier attack.

"Look, I think maybe we got off on the wrong-" Naruto started to say before he dodged to the side as the Claymore appeared before him, sword cleaving the ground apart yet again when it struck. Seeing an opening his life-long training kicked in and he hurled the kunai at her in her unprotected side, which he instantly regretted as she some how managed to bring her blade around in time to deflect his ruined weapon.

The kunai careened off at an angle, disappearing into the dark forest and left him weaponless.

"Oh shit." Naruto said, wondering if he should risk a Rasengan despite his low chakra. Then his eyes widened as he noticed the familiar spike of chakra unique to Jinchūriki, yet even as he registered it he noticed that the woman had disappeared before he could even notice. He moved out of instinct but not quite quick enough to avoid the attack completely, the blade slicing briefly into his leg before he managed to escape.

He didn't have a respite this time as the blade came at him in a blinding flurry of slashes and cuts, coming closer and closer to actually hitting him. Naruto's breath come in short painful bursts as he dodged each attack, before ducking beneath a slash at his neck and planting a hand used it as a pivot point to sweep at her ankle. She jumped over the attempt, and he sprang away while tossing a handful of dirt at her face as he did so.

His injured leg tried to buckle from the shifting weight, and taking the brief moment of distraction as she wiped the dirt from her eyes, he pulled on a tiny portion of Kurama's chakra to heal the wound. Sadly while it healed the wound, there wasn't enough to give him any kind of edge since he couldn't risk having what little remained of his chakra consumed. Leg recovered he looked up just as the woman finally cleared away the last of the dirt he had thrown, staring at him with silted golden eyes.

"Ok, can we just-" Naruto started once more, before she pulled her arm back and flung her sword at him with blinding speed. Anger and frustration exploded within Naruto and with every ounce of speed he still possessed dodged to the side, while reaching out to grab the hilt of the sword as it hurtled passed him. Landing he pivoted fast, tearing the blade from its path and hurling it right back at her, forcing the woman who had been charging at him to dodge to avoid getting impaled with her own sword.

She landed gracefully, golden eyes wide as the blade itself drove itself into a nearby tree.

"I'm fucking tired of you ignoring me!" Naruto shouted his already ragged breathing taking on an even harsher tone, and his entire arm felt like it was dislocated from his little trick just now. But it didn't matter, if this woman wanted to play badass, then he would do the same, and Uzumaki Naruto was damn good at being bad ass lately. "I do not want to fight. This fight is _**over**_, do you understand?"

The moment of expectant silence collapsed when a new and timid voice spoke. "Teresa?"

Cautiously, against his better judgment, Naruto let his attention drift to the young girl partially hidden behind a tree. The clouds over head were drifting across the moon, dimming the light, so it was hard to tell but she didn't look scared, just uncertain. Naruto puzzled over that but decided if they were travelling together it must not have been the first time the girl saw something like this.

"I told you to stay in the camp." The woman, Teresa apparently, said coolly her gaze never wavering from him even as her gold eyes faded.

"Look," Naruto said, his gaze returning to her "I'm tired, sore and utterly confused. So how about we stop fighting and talk this out? I'll tell you everything I know and you can answer a few of my questions."

Teresa didn't respond before she crossed the clearing calmly and pulled the sword free from the tree it had struck. Sheathing it over her shoulder without a flourish she paused, glancing back at him. "Do as you wish." That said she moved to the young girl and they both started walking into the trees.

Frowning, Naruto cautiously followed the pair.

* * *

Teresa watched him with unblinking eyes, taking in his every move, the way she might a Yoma she was hunting: He sat crossed legged on the other side of the fire across from her, back against a tree listlessly eating the leftovers of the game she had hunted for Clare earlier. The way he was dressed was not only unusual but a sign that he had been in a serious fight.

That was actually part of why she had attacked him in the first place, Awakened Beings (both male and female) often wore such tattered clothes. It also hadn't helped that while they spoke the same language he used terms that were either completely nonsensical such as 'ninja' and 'Hokage' or what could only be an ancient pronunciation for 'Senshi'. His clothes, combined with the odd words the strange Yoki he had made it imperative that she discover his true nature, and to gauge his skills.

Ultimately she decided that while he was an ancient warrior, possibly one that had been created even before the first generation, he had amazingly not awakened. His Yoki had never spiked to any significant degree, and his skills had been superb. All things considered, Teresa was inclined to believe his claim of being the 'greatest Senshi to ever live', she actually wondered what the fight would have been like if he had been in better condition.

None of that meant that she should be relaxing her guard around him though, after all the only male Senshi of significant skill was the Abyssal One of the North, The Silver White King Isley. The fact that Naruto was here, alone, meant that there was more to the situation that what she knew and it could potentially pose a serious threat to not only her own safety but that of Clare. Glancing at her companion Teresa ensured that the younger girl was asleep before turning her attention back to the man expectantly, wondering if what he would tell her.

"I believe it is time we talked." Teresa said after a moment, arms crossed over her chest, looking for any sign of dishonesty.

"Right," Naruto said, meeting her gaze and holding it. It almost seemed that he was staring at her soul, at her inner-most secrets, it was a little unnerving to be honest, but then he started to talk. He started haltingly, but as he began to relive it the words flowed faster and faster explaining a world and war that seemed outrageous beyond imagination.

He talked for hours, finishing when the moon had reached the peak of its journey across the night sky. Teresa didn't move, or speak, letting her mind churn over everything he had told her, knowing that he had held a few things back. After a moment she blinked once, head tilting to the side just slightly.

"So you're telling me that this Madara actually intended to use the moon to take control of the world?"

"Yes." Naruto said with a fractional nod.

"So you fought a war against him, but now have no idea where you are."

"Pretty much."

"I see." Teresa said slowly, frowning slightly. "As far as the Organization or I are aware, there is no place beyond this land. Many of those called Claymores suspect that there might be other continents, but no ships have ever found such a place."

Naruto's face fell at that, his gaze drifting to the fire. Teresa watched him for another moment before dismissing him and turning her mind toward his story and what she knew of this world. Was it possible he could actually be from another world, but then how could he have gotten here? Naruto admitted he didn't remember much about the war he had been in.

No, Teresa decided after serious contemplation, the answer was probably far simpler than that. His war had been _**before**_ the first generation and the Bijū he mentioned were the catalyst for the creation of Yoma, and the creation of Senshi were based on old memories of those he called Shinobi. As for why he was so confused that too was simple: His battle against this Madara and Sasuke had resulted in being trapped some place in a state of suspended consciousness, and when he finally did regain his self-awareness he was left in a daze without any memories of anything that had occurred in the intervening years.

"So," Naruto said after a moment, his gaze turning back to her "What the hell is the Organization?"

"The Organization is the only thing that stands against the Yoma that infest the world." Teresa answered and then sensing his next question before he asked it, added "They do this by creating us, half-human and half-Yoma warriors."

"They make Jinchūriki?" he asked, but it was clear he was speaking more to himself than her. Even still she noted the odd word and the anger behind it.

"Yes. Much like how in your time they used children for the process, they do the same here. We are taken in as children by the Organization and turned into a weapon with which to protect the humans."

"Damn it." Naruto snarled, his eyes flashing with anger.

"We are a necessary evil," Teresa said, curious at his display of emotion "our lives before becoming Warriors are not pleasant. Most are little more than animals, many have seen their family's eaten alive by Yoma while others have experienced the helplessness of being a toy for a Yoma. Such pasts make us the perfect weapon to unleash upon the Yoma."

"Is there really no other way?" Naruto asked eyes troubled.

"Yoma can assume the shape of anyone they consume, with their memories and personalities. They are impossible to detect for anyone other than us, and even if they could be faced by a human it is rare for any to be skilled enough to slay one." Teresa explained closing her eyes "But even those few humans who can slay a Yoma would fail against the rare packs and they would be nothing before a Voracious Eater."

"Voracious Eater?"

"Long-lived Yoma of extreme power and appetite, very cunning creatures that even Warriors struggle against." Teresa said "The worst of them are the three known as the Abyssal Ones: Isley of the North, Luciela of the South, Riful of the West. They are powerful beyond anything imaginable, even the highest ranked of Warriors known as Claymores dare not stand against one."

"Like a Bijū." Naruto murmured, before sighing and his eyes closed "It's all fucked up."

"It's the world in which we live."

Naruto snorted at that, and Teresa allowed a faint smile at the noise. A moment later he blinked and stared at her intently "What did you mean 'my time'?"

"It is simple," Teresa said with a shrug of her shoulders "You claim this war consumed the world, yet you are here. With the fact that we have never once found evidence that there was a land beyond this one, in all the centuries that we have been alive and looking, there are only two options. One, you are from another world and have crossed over to this one. The other, and far more likely, is that you're war was in _our_ past and for whatever reason, you ended up in a state of suspended consciousness while the world slowly rebuilt following the devastation of the war."

"Uh…"

"And to be honest, considering either option, I think it is more likely that the second one is true." Teresa said, giving him a faint smile "Literally you are 'The First', the spiritual ancestor to all Senshi that have come since you're time."

"But, but…" Naruto sputtered, staring at her with wide eyes and disbelief obvious in his countenance "I mean, I don't remember details but I know I beat Madara. We won the war, so how could everything change so much?"

"I don't know. I was not alive then, we have no record of such an ancient conflict either, but you say this Madara was planning to use these…Bijū…correct?" Teresa asked, and then at his silent nod continued "So maybe, once you defeated him they broke free and overwhelmed the gathered forces so badly that they had no chance at recovery. You have even said that without Shinobi there was no way for anyone to stand against these creatures, meaning they would have free reign to devastate the world."

"Oh kami…" Naruto murmured, looking stricken and he reached up grabbing either side of he had clenching his eyes shut. "No, no, no…that cannot be, you have to be wrong, I couldn't have slept while everyone was dying…"

"It is only a theory." Teresa said, guilt squirming in her mind upon seeing the kind of grief she was causing the man. "The only one that I can see with everything I know, but I am far from infallible."

Slowly he pulled his hands away from his head before nodding despondently after a moment, but otherwise remained silent staring at the ground between his feet. Teresa almost sighed at the sight, startled to discover that she could experience sympathy even for total strangers. Such small odd emotional response had started to become more and more frequent, most likely thanks to the presence of Clare.

"You said something about ranks." Naruto said, his tone subdued "How does that work? As ninja we have Genin, Chūnin, Jōnin and the very top a Kage."

"Rank is simple, there are 47 of us at any given time and each is assigned a district in one of the four regions. But basically, the lower the number the weaker the Senshi is." Teresa answered blandly. "However, there is not a radical difference in power between similar numbered Claymores, not until you reach 10 – 1. The jump between Numbers 6 and 5 is huge… as it stands I would say that in the terms of Claymore Rank you would match me as Number 1."

"Cool." Naruto said, brightening slightly, grinning widely before blinking "Hey, you mentioned something about a first generation a couple of times. How many Generations has there been?"

"There is no way of knowing for certain, because while Claymores may mature they do not age beyond full physical maturation." Teresa said "I have been alive for two 'generations' and there are some who have been alive since even before my 'generation' came to be. Most however, do not last that long as they lose themselves to the pleasure of using their Yoki and end up dead."

"Huh?"

"Within the Organization, those that humans call Claymores have a lost generation. The First Generation, made up of only male Senshi, and it was their failure that led to the understanding that only females were capable of serving as Warriors." Teresa said, closing her eyes "They became utterly addicted to releasing their Yoki, living only to fight so that they could experience the sensation. Naturally the more fights you enter, the shorter your lifespan becomes."

"Ok," Naruto said slowly, giving her a curious look "But how can anyone become addicted to Yoki?"

"Releasing Yoki often feels like the best sexual release imaginable," Teresa said, giving him a knowing grin "It is such that every time I release even a fraction of mine I am left aching."

"Er…" Naruto managed, cheeks turning red before he coughed into his hand averting his gaze from her "I-I think I'm going to sleep..."

"Very well." Teresa said, amused at his reaction.


	3. Chapter 2: First Encounter, Part 2

Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 02: ****First Encounter, Part 2**  
by Geor-sama

* * *

_"You will _not_ stop me!" Madara shouted, his voice losing any semi-balance of rationality "I will not let another Senju interfere with my plans!" _

_Naruto stared in confusion, or something closer to befuddlement, his attention was flagging and he was having a hard time remembering his own name at the moment. What little he did remember consisted of knowing that he had been fighting for what seemed like days and that he had killed someone that had started the insanity unraveling before him. But even as Naruto watched the masked figure start his technique, he knew something else and it was more important to him than any other fact: the lives of his precious people were hanging in the balance and he would not stop until he had won. _

_There was something forming before the mad Uchiha, a tiny dot of chakra whose edges were shimmering faintly before it expanded, ripping the air open its edges tinting red as if bleeding. There were shouts and screams but they faded as the bleeding hole expanded, filling hte air with vibrations and the ground itself trembled. Rocks and debris started to lift into the air, spiraling into the gaping blackness bound within the bleeding edges, and Naruto's heart hammered in his chest knowing he was staring into a true abyss of nothing..._

_Still his hands came together and his chakra began to spin within his palms, becoming a sphere of spinning chakra. But it became more, he concentrated every ounce of his chakra into this Rasengan: the flickering golden flames of Kurama's chakra flowed over his body and down into the sphere, his Sage Chakra drained from his body and into the rapdily growing sphere, his own chakra began to flow up from where he had suppressed it and joined the dancing and whirling colors of his new Rasengan. _

_His arms trembled as he tried to support the sphere of mutli-colored chakra, its weight increasing with each pulse of chakra - grunting he focused his eyes once more on the still expanding hole and the Uchiha in control of it. He was only dimly surprised to realize he could see all the chakra flowing through the area shining with all the colors imaginable, suddenly the hidden world was revealed to him with utter clarity; it was beautiful. _

_But he had a job to finish. _

_Lifting his hands, he gritted his teeth as arms trembled, and his back protested holding the heavy weight of the Rasengan. With one last surge of chakra he sent his Rasengan speeding away in a whirl of wind and color - there was a blinding flash of light as geysers of radiance exploded through his mind and very dimly, Naruto heard frightened screams and then everything became a jumble of sensations and fragmented memories. _

* * *

Naruto jerked awake, his muscles clenching as if he had hit the ground from high over head and with great speed. His back arched violently, so that he was almost standing on his neck before suddenly going slack allowing him to collapse like a limp doll on the ground. Panting for breath, a tremor ran through him and then slowly he rolled onto his side and leveraged himself into a sitting position.

Damn it, what the hell had that been about?

"Hey Sakur-" Naruto started before falling silent, remembering that he was far from home. His mind touched briefly on what Teresa had told him last night, but he refused to believe that without at least some kind of proof. Letting out a sharp breath he scanned the camp, he didn't see either woman but he could see pieces of armor stacked neatly against a tree and that the fire had been carefully smothered with dirt.

Still he couldn't help but wonder where exactly they were, but then had to smack his forehead as he came to the most obvious answer. He had stood guard for Sakura when she took a bath -not daring to peek under threat of death- often enough while on missions. Of course even if they were taking a bath, he had to grimace at the knowledge of how deeply he had been sleeping to not notice them leaving - something glinting in the corner of his eye caught his attention and looking over blanched seeing his damaged kunai laying next to him.

It was one thing to sleep through people leaving camp, but entirely another thing to sleep through someone getting close enough to put a weapon so close to him. He could hear the chiding tone of Sakura... shaking his head to clear it, he picked up the kunai and pocketed in his weapons pouch. It didn't matter now, considering that he was already awake and not bleeding like a stuck pig, but he would be mindful in the future.

Sighing, which turned into a yawn, he stretched his over-taxed shoulder and back muscles before getting up slowly to search for food. His gait was a little unsteady, but it evened out soon enough and by then he scavenged a few discarded pieces of stale bread and extremely over cooked meat. Moving back to his original seat, he sat down bemoaning the fact that while its chakra remained, Kurama remained silent and thus not instantly enhancing his already accelerated healing.

Reclining against the tree, he ate in silence, thinking absently that he had eaten worse. Both as a neglected orphan repeatedly screwed over by bastards, and occasionally during his training trip with Jiraiya when fresh food had been scarce and they had often made do with what they could find. Hell he had even adapted to the food they served on Mount Myōboku when he had been training with the Toads to become a Sage and harness natural chakra.

Pausing with bread half way to his mouth, he blinked, wondering if he could use natural charka to enhance his healing. If he could that would be a huge relief as the last thing he wanted to do was use Kurama's chakra and bring Teresa running with her sword, or worse _other_ Claymores who wouldn't give him the benefit of the doubt. Naruto shrugged deciding it was at least worth checking into, and finishing his meal adopted a meditative pose.

Hands settling gently into his lap, Naruto inhaled deeply and then let it out slowly, concentrating only on his breathing allowing it to slowly calm his mind. As his thoughts slowed before disappearing slowly, he expanded his senses outward, exploring the intrinsic balance that suffused the world; balance was the key to Senjutsu, the way the world balanced and the way you were balanced within yourself. Failure to attain this balance resulted in only disaster: not only did you lose your human form but became a statue of stone.

You could not fool nature, could not control it; to become a Toad Sage, you had to purge any falsehood you clung to and accept the unadulterated truth of both the world and of yourself. A precious few ninja would even think of attempting it, fewer still even tried, and so far only two had succeeded. Naruto sank deeper into the hidden nature of the world, and discovered quickly that something was fundamentally off.

It wasn't a huge thing, he was still able to pull the natural chakra into him and then release it back into nature, but it was a little disconcerting. Before he attempted using Senjutsu to any significant degree he would need to give this a closer inspection, but later. Opening his eyes, he breathed out slowly, relaxing his posture while frowning as he realized that one of his own theories had just been inadvertently proven false.

Despite what Teresa had said last night, Naruto had seen more possibilities than the two she presented. Notably he had been wondering if he could be in some kind of genjutsu, an elaborately crafted Sharingan powered illusion, to distract him while Madara ripped Kurama out of him. However, while training with the toads he had been put under powerful genjutsu and asked to gather natural charka, since you needed perfect stillness this was an almost ideal situation.

Genjutsu could not stop the gathering of natural chakra, and even better since the chakra came from nature, the genjutsu crumbled utterly.

That he was still here meant that whatever else had happened, his war was over and this was reality. That somewhat disappointing realization though was overshadowed as he registered the fact that he had been right, he _could_ use natural charka to enhance his accelerated healing. He was feeling a million times better than he had before meditating, this could give him an edge if he was ever in another situation like what he had found himself in last night.

"You are up."

"Huh?" Naruto managed, feeling stupid even as he looked up to see Teresa. The first thing he noticed was her silver-eyes, but they were hardly the first strangely colored eyes he had ever seen; his attention shifted from her eyes and he was suddenly struck with just how breath-taking Teresa actually was. His sucked in a breath, thankful that at least he wasn't turning red faced -

"Is there a problem?" Teresa asked blandly, plunging her sword into the ground before she began putting her armor on.

"What? No," Naruto said shaking his head rapidly, aware he had been caught staring, his cheeks turning red. "I was just, well..."

"Would you like to sleep with me?" Teresa asked curtly, not looking at him, holding her shoulder armor and cape.

"W-wha?! No!" Naruto sputtered, eyes widening "I mean, yeah your really beautiful and everything, but no...I don't know you well enough to be thinking about that!"

"I see." Teresa said, returning to putting on her armor. Naruto shifted a little, gaze drifting away from her noticing Clare for the first time. The girl was even thinner than he had noticed last night, and the way her green eyes kept flickering from him to the surrounding area and back told him that she had been traumatized. He could not mistake the signs, growing up he had seen plenty of troubled children growing up as an orphan.

"Hello." Naruto said, giving her a grin. The girl didn't respond outside of stepping a little closer to Teresa, he wanted to huff at that, but instead he turned his attention back to the woman "So, thanks for finding my kunai. I mean, after everything I went through its pretty much the only weapon I have left."

"Hm?" Teresa said, glancing at him as she slid her sword into the sheath between the shoulder armor on her back "Thank Clare, she spent most of the morning looking for it."

"Really?" Naruto asked, surprised, turning back to an even more uncertain looking girl who gave him an uncertain nod, not quite meeting his gaze. "Well thanks."

Her lack of reaction to his words didn't surprise him, besides he didn't need the 'visible' signs that other people needed. He could read her eyes and the body language better than most could, at least in this instance; she wasn't certain how to react to his words, so instead of responding she was drawing into herself. He had done it often enough as an orphan, which had probably only made the anger and hate worse as it could be taken as a sign of not having emotions.

Getting up, he brushed his ruined pants off, before he reached into his hip pouch undoing the hidden pocket and retrieving a small cloth bound item. Keeping his smile in place, aware that Teresa was now tracking his movements even if she wasn't looking at him, he approached Clare slowly making it clear that he wasn't up to anything threatening. The girl was watching him intently, her posture going almost rigid from fear and uncertainty.

"Clare, there's something I want to give you." Naruto said, stopping short and kneeling in front of her lifting his hand slightly to show what he was holding. "For finding my kunai for me."

Undoing the cloth he revealed a handmade necklace of pink crystal roughly in the shape of a sakura blossom and attached to a rope of raw leather. Naruto had been saving this for Sakura, he'd made it during his rare break while training on that strange Turtle Island, but instead he was now going to give it to this young girl that reminded him of his past self. She was staring at it and him in shock, hardly daring to breathe as he spread the leather cord and slipped it over her head settling it around her neck allowing the crystal to rest on her chest.

"Keep this safe, ok?" Naruto asked softly giving her a warm smile, seeking and holding her gaze, both hands resting on her shoulders "I made this for someone extremely important to me, but I want you to have it now. I'm entrusting this to you, be brave and grow up to be a proud woman."

Clare didn't say anything, not that he expected her to, she merely stared at him. Letting go of her shoulders, he glanced up at Teresa warmth spread through him as he saw her faint smile... thus he was caught utterly off guard when tiny, hesitant arms wrapped around his neck in a hug; he froze, eyes widening before he chuckled returning the hug somewhat shyly still unused to positive physical affection.

The hug lasted only a few minutes before Clare pulled away, backing away until she stood beside Teresa who put a hand on her shoulder. Smiling he stood up taking a few steps back to give the two females their space, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I guess I should-"

"We're going to the town of Rokut." Teresa said abruptly, interrupting him. It was seemingly pointless, but Naruto had known enough stoic people in his life to understand why she had said it: Teresa was asking if he would like to travel with them, and that he would be welcomed to do so, but she was also letting him know it made no difference to her if he did or not.

"I'm going to head back to where you first found me, see if there's anything I'm missing. I mean, I know what you think but I can't just accept that." Naruto said, before adding cautiously "Which way is Rokut? You know, just in case."

"One day east of here." Teresa answered, glancing at the girl at her side "Art you ready?"

The girl nodded silently, and with a final nod at him Teresa turned leading Clare into forest. Naruto stood there, watching after them until they disappeared from view, then turning set out in the opposite direction heading back to where he had woken up.

* * *

Clare had always been observant child, unusually observant all things considered and this nature had saved her more than once while growing up. After all, the world had plenty of dangers besides Yoma. Bandits, slavers, and wild animals had all been a real threat for a small family living mostly isolated from everyone else on a small farm. Growing up, Clare had more than once noticed a bandit or slaver and managed to escape before they could spot her.

Admittedly she was unable to notice everything, after all she was only a child, but when she did notice something it was important. It was her observant nature that saved her from the Yoma wearing her brother's face, and kept her alive when another Yoma took her as a 'pet', and it was why she had realized just how hurt and alone Teresa was. It was also this strangely observant nature that had allowed her realize that the man they had just left, Naruto, was hurting badly.

Unlike Teresa, he didn't hide behind indifference, he hid behind brightness. His smile was bright and infectious, filling whoever looked at it with hope and courage; it was a smile that insisted that everything was going to be ok. But his eyes, they shone with a kindness that was impossible and yet behind that, she had sensed some emotion that Clare could not place and that troubled her far more than she liked.

Clare had been unsure of what to say when she had seen it, the Yoma had all but tortured words out of her and she had barely rediscovered words thanks to Teresa, so there was nothing she could but offer him but that brief hug around his neck. Still, Clare pitied the man for that strange emotion that she couldn't place and half-wished that Teresa had forced him to travel with them so that he wouldn't suffer alone.

"The trees are thinning," Teresa suddenly said, her face expressionless "We'll be leaving the forest soon and cross a plain. We should arrive a little after noon."

Clare nodded glancing at her savior, wondering what the woman was thinking, but Teresa's face was blank of any expression, hiding her emotions more effectively than a mask. Her attention flickered away from Teresa and back to the forest with its tall trees thinning out and sparse undergrowth. She had no clear memories of her home, they had long since crumbled to dust and been cast aside, but Clare thought that she had never seen so many trees while growing up.

"He was hurt." Clare whispered suddenly, unable to hold it back.

"Yes." Teresa answered blandly, giving no sign what she was thinking or that she was surprised at the sudden subject.

"He had sad eyes. Why would Naruto have such sad eyes, but such a bright smile?"

Teresa didn't seem to register her words, but there was a flicker of strange emotion on Teresa's face. The silence was deafening, making Clare uneasy about her question and perhaps wondering if she had upset her. They walked a few more minutes in silence before Teresa spoke, he tone oddly distant "Everyone has sadness in their past. For those who become warriors, who face Yoma, this is especially true and it can at times overwhelm our minds leading to our awakenings. But the strongest of us learn to continue on in spite of this pain, it will never leave us, but it does not hold power over our hearts."

Clare blinked, saying nothing about the fact that was the most she had heard Teresa ever say at once. Turning those words over in her mind, she allowed the conversation to lapse into silence and soon enough they reached the edge of the woods and emerged to an undulating plain. It stretched away into a far horizon that danced and shimmered, and the sky overhead was so bright and cloudless that it bordered on white.

Teresa stood there for a moment, surveying the vast sea of grass before starting forward once more. Clare hurried to keep up with the warrior whose strides were long and purposeful, becoming all business now that they were only hours from their destination. "Is he, is Naruto like you?" Clare asked, trying to keep from huffing or showing the strain that she was experiencing.

"No." Teresa answered without slowing or blinking. "He is from before the first generation of 'Claymores', the First."

As silence settled over them again, her questions satisfied for the moment, Clare allowed her mind to turn away from Naruto and toward her future with Teresa. Ahead of them waited the village Roktu and after that Clare was not sure, but there was no doubt in her mind that they would go ever onward side by side.

The wind blew past her with a low howl that almost sounded like laughter.

* * *

Naruto crouched near the newly discovered rivulet, which was little more than a shallow narrow flow of water glittering in the afternoon sun, cupping his hands gulping down the cool water. He hadn't realized just how thirsty he had been until he stumbled across it, but in hindsight it should have been obvious considering the last time he had drank anything was before going off to face Sasuke during the war.

"Are you awake yet?" Naruto asked aloud, only to receive continued silence from Kurama. Part of him worried about the massive fox, his only trip within the seal since waking up had yielded an impenetrable curtain of utter darkness surrounding Kurama's domain. But the chakra was still there and even with the 'curtain', Naruto could faintly feel it's presence - if he had to use a term he would almost say it was like Kurama was sleeping.

Shaking his hand slightly clear it of water droplets, Naruto looked around musing absently how similar this forest looked to the ones around Konoha, before turning his eyes toward the short sword he had plunged into the ground nearby. He had stumbled across it not to long ago as he meandered his way through the forest and had decided even if he wasn't going to be here for long he might need it. Taking another sip of water, he sighed cracking his neck softly before pulling his damaged kunai and pierced his thumb drawing blood.

Discarding the weapon of the moment he began inking a series of lines onto the hilt using his blood and with greater care than he normally displayed.

Naruto was far from a master at sealing, it took too much patience, but he knew enough that the few seals he did know were easy even when working in a temporary medium such as blood (which many ninja were unaware of being an option). Finishing the seal on the hilt he began inking a corresponding storage seal on the palm of his left hand, before reaching out to align the two seals and flare his chakra. The seal glowed briefly with chakra, warming the skin and then with a flash of smoke the short sword disappeared; standing he activated the seal again and the short sword reappeared in the palm of his hand.

Grasping the blade he slashed it a few times experimentally through the air before flaring his chakra again, returning it to the weapon storage seal. Stooping he retrieved his kunai, depositing it in his hip pouch before setting off once more, whistling happily. Blood seals, they might be temporary, but they were freaking handy and you got amazingly better results than usual for lower chakra costs.

Unfortunately his good mood vanished as his mind turned toward Sakura and what he would have to face once he got back home. He had killed Sasuke, no matter what reason, he had taken the life of the man she loved with all her heart. He had known the costs of his actions even before he faced the crazed Shinobi he had considered a brother: by killing Sasuke he spared his friends the emotional pain such an act would bring, but most importantly he had spared Sakura-chan the fate of self-destructing and in so doing he had ensured that she could never love him.

"Damn you Sasuke," Naruto swore, lashing out at a nearby tree, slamming a Rasengan into it. Clenching his eyes shut he took a shuddering breath and then continued onward, wrestling with the price saving the world had cost him. Not that he would hesitate to do it again, and it wasn't as if Sakura had died (a cold chill ran up his spine at the mere thought), but still he had lost something infinitely important to him.

Scowling Naruto shoved his hands into the pockets of his tattered pants, trying to think about something else. Unfortunately there wasn't much else too think about other than the war, especially for Naruto since he got back he would have to deal with the fallout. An alliance of Shinobi Villages, even he knew that would only hold together so long as there was a common enemy and there was as real possibility that things could still spiral out of control if anyone decided to 'punish' any village tied to Akatsuki.

Redoubling his pace, he shoved branches aside and jumped over roots, taking a cold comfort that it would take a while before anyone got that brilliant idea. Reaching the clearing he paused, taking it in before wondering he was going to do. Lifting his fingers he created a half dozen Kage Bunshin "Alright, spread out and look for anything strange or useful."

"Got it!" six identical voices called back before scattering into the surrounding forest, leaving him standing there alone.

"Right, now then...lets see..." Naruto murmured, eying the ground before walking to where he had first woken up. Feet shoulder width, back straight, he brought his hands together in a basic chakra molding position and closed his eyes with a slow breath. Still the mind, still the soul, become part of the balance - new strength was flowing into him, filling him: he became the wind, the water, the earth and the sun.

He expanded his senses beyond the clearing, registering the chakra of his Kage Bunshin and then what could only be the tainted chakra of yoma and Claymore, further out he sensed the faintest hint of normal chakra. He pulled in more of the world, he became the tides of the ocean, the groaning tectonic plates; he became everything at once and nothing at all. At the outer most edges he found three incredibly massive sources of tainted chakra, but he pushed even further before reaching his maximum limits.

If he took in more Sage Chakra he would become a toad statue, meaning he had no choice but to step back from the edge. Slowly releasing his Sage chakra back into nature, his senses dimming, hiding from him all the chakra he had found. As the last of it faded, he let out a slow breath and opened his eyes unable to help the frown as a nagging doubt began to fill his mind at failing to sense a single familiar chakra.

He must have been further away from the Elemental Nations that he had thought; it was possibly he was even further away than the continent Temujin came from. Which meant walking home was an impractical idea, he could theoretically do it but he had no idea where this land was in relation to any of the lands he knew and would most likely end up never finding his way home. Crossing his arms, Naruto wondered if there was something he was overlooking after all he couldn't just be trapped here.

Could he? No, Naruto shook his head vehemently to dislodge the tendril of uncertainty.

"Found something boss!" A Kage Bunshin shouted from overhead, and Naruto looked up to where it stood on the side of the tree, holding the thick leather strap of - "It's the Toad Contract!"

"Hell yes!" Naruto shouted happily as the Kage Bunshin detached itself from the tree and plummeted to the ground, the massive scroll now slung over its back. Upon landing it tossed the scroll to him and then went off to continue its search. Hefting the scroll to balance it on one end, Naruto grabbed the other end unscrewing a hidden end cap to reveal a storage area "The Toad Contract! Not only a kick ass way of looking awesome but also an emergency storage area."

Up ending the scroll he scanned the items that spilled out: the complete Icha Icha series, sealing manuals (basic and intermediate), sealing ink and a brush along with some spare weapons. Naruto grinned; pleased to know that even if he was in some unknown land that was unaware of the Elemental Nations he'd at least have some supplies. He almost fell over as he had a sudden thought, one that made him feel stupid for not thinking of it sooner.

So what if he was on the other side of the planet in an unknown land, he could just summon a toad. Fukusaku would pop up, Naruto could tell the Toad elder the problem then dismiss him and the Toads could just reverse summon him back home. It was so simple and obvious that it made him flush in embarrassment, glad that nobody was around to call him an idiot for taking this long on figuring the solution out.

"Oi, you guys can leave now!" Naruto called out to his Kage Bunshin who promptly dispelled, leaving him with a scattering of memories. Shoving all of the items into the storage area and rescrewing it, Naruto slung the leather strap over his shoulder before nodding curtly to himself "Time to get the hell out of here."

Crouching once more he bit his thumb drawing blood and began forming a series of hand seals: Boar, Dog, Monkey, Bird, Ram - and then with an unshakable authority slapped his hand against the ground. A minute passed and then another, but it was already obvious that his summoning had failed: There was no circle of black lines or a puff of smoke indicating the arrival of a toad, all his chakra had done was flow out of his hand and harmlessly into the ground.

Naruto blinked staring at his hand and the ground, ignoring the chill sinking into his body, before realizing the problem. 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu' was a space-time technique that allowed the summoner to transport animals and objects across the span of great distances instantly. The expenditure exchange ratio of chakra to object was affected by several factors, not the least of which was distance from the origin point of the summoned object and its size. But that was really just a fancy way of saying that the further away you were and the bigger the object the more chakra was required.

Grinning at his mistake, Naruto took a moment to mold a ridiculously large amount of chakra (enough to summon Gamabunta under normal circumstances) and once more formed the five hand seals before bringing his hand against the ground once more. His grin grew strained a minute later when he registered that the Kuchiyose no Jutsu had failed once more, Naruto tried again, and again, and again...

_...no, no, no..._

Naruto was gasping for breath, a terrible panic beginning to boil up within him, and he began drawing on every ounce of Kurama Chakra he possessed: Power enough to cause earthquakes, to create tsunamis, to smash mountain ranges, to create tornadoes, hurricanes and volcanos. Power enough, that every being capable of sensing chakra in whatever form they were capable of trembled or whimpered.

The golden chakra started flickering in his hair, before spreading down along his arms and through his body. Suddenly Uzumaki Naruto no longer existed as a physical entity, but rather pure golden chakra flames. Forming the seals once more, the golden chakra blazed even brighter as he drew his hand back and his chakra flowed through his body and down to his hand which blazed to sun-bright intensity and he brought it down against the ground with such force that the ground shifted and groaned from the force of it.

Nature exploded into green life, a land in the clutches of fall exploded back to life; brown leaves became dark green, bare trees blossomed, the grass came back from its golden brown death and began to grow. But for all of this awesome power, the technique failed once more and as suddenly as spring came it left, leaving behind an exhausted host who was staring blankly at where his hand lay against the ground.

He had no real thoughts, he couldn't process anything at the moment - but he still knew what this meant. He was not smart (in the way Sakura-chan or Shikamaru were at least), but he was an _extremely_ well trained ninja. He had been taught over the years by some truly brilliant ninja Hatake Kakashi for one and Jiraiya, who had taught the Yondaime Hokage, so Naruto was well aware of every detail concerning all of his ninjutsu, including the 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu'.

It could be argued that Naruto might know the details of summoning better than any other ninja currently alive.

Kuchiyose no Jutsu could fail, it wasn't an unheard of situation since there were ways of countering the technique, but this was a far different sort of failure. This was a failure of the worst sort, because the technique failed not because of any counter measure, but rather because there was simply **nothing** to summon. It was impossible, any counter measures would have been shattered the instant he used the chakra from Kurama, but even Naruto couldn't argue with the result.

He collapsed completely to his hands and knees, vision blurring as the tears started to flow. Dimly a thought surfaced through the shock claiming him, one that brought with it despair, Teresa had been right, they were... all of them...this wasn't how things were supposed to be. He had saved them, Naruto knew it to the core of his soul, but somehow he had lost everyone and everything he cared about.

His tears were nothing when compared to the wail of anguish that left his throat raw while still failing to utterly give proper voice to his pain.

_Sakura, Kakashi, Tsunade, Konohamaru...Konoha...everyone..._They were all gone.

He lunged back onto his haunches, threw his head back and screamed his grief into the uncaring sky. He screamed until his throat was beyond raw, Naruto screamed until he had no voice, and when he lost his voice he simply cried until his exhaustion caught up with him and unconsciousness claimed him.


	4. Extra Scene 1: Interlude

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Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Extra Scene 1: Interlude**  
by Geor-sama

* * *

"I don't appreciate emergency calls for sessions this early in the morning," Rimuto announced entering the roughly hewn meeting hall. The others present noticeably stiffened at his voice, but he ignored it as he approached his seat and settled into it. After a moment of silence, he glanced around at the fellow elders and Handlers before noting the disfigured countenance of Dae standing alone before them. "This better be good."

"It is." Dae confirmed his tone in an odd mixture of anticipation and annoyance. "My sources have reported a sudden and dramatic shift in Yoma activity."

"Oh?" Rimuto said, glancing at the others who were looking at each other in mixtures of confusion, and uneasiness.

"There was a massive flare of Yoki detected in the western regions of Mucha," Dae explained "and it was felt all the way from the tip of Alphonse. The Abyssal Ones have all begun to stir once more, Yoma are _fleeing_ the south in record numbers, and according to several Handlers several of the warriors we have situated in Mucha were on the verge of awakening."

"That's impossible." Rado, one of the currently unassigned Handlers said, moving away from the wall to confront Dae "There is _no_ being capable of producing that much Yoki, not even the Abyssal Ones possess Yoki into driving the Yoma to flee an entire region. Not to mention the fact that it would be impossible for a single being to induce a near awakening, let alone so many at the same time."

"It was a synchronicity event." Rimuto said to himself, hand covering his mouth as he considered the information thoughtfully "It was similar in effect to our earlier experiment with Rafaela and Luciela, along with the current experiments with Alicia and Beth."

"Only on a much wider scale." Dae offered eagerly, before glancing at Rado "It is not unheard of for such strange beings to spontaneously come into existence, that _thing_ in the lonely mountains of Toulouse is a prime example of this."

"That thing is an aberration," one of the other Elders said "we are aware that it came from outside. Why and for what purpose we are still unable to grasp, but it is far from this being you claim, capable of unleashing such potent Yoki."

"I claim nothing. It is fact that this being exists-" Dae said moving closer to the row of Elders "we must harness this resource. If we act now, using our top warriors, I am confident we can capture this Yoma. Deploying the current Number 1 Teresa, the most advanced manifestation to date, we can surely-"

"You over-estimate our strength." Rubel interrupted, emerging from his customary spot within the back, drawing everyone's attention "At the moment we are able to create a balance between ourselves and The Abyssal Ones, but the balance is a precarious one which would turn against us if we should attempt to capture the creature which possesses such massive and potent Yoki. Even if we could call in the former Number 1 Teresa, nothing would change."

"Former?" Dae said frowning as the exposed muscles and melted flesh on the side of his face created a grotesque image.

"Haven't you heard?" Rubel asked rhetorically, continuing on in a pleasantly polite manner. "She exterminated an entire town's population, shattering our only iron-clad rule that forbids Claymore to kill humans. And on top of that, she has refused execution and injured her own comrades in the process, forcing us to send Numbers 5 and above to hunt her down."

Dae shifted slightly in silence, glowering as he swept his gaze to the elders, asking silently if they could simply over look her actions.

Rimuto met the gaze levelly, making it clear there would be no leniency in such matters – even despite his personal preferences of keeping her around. There was honestly nothing he could do to stay her execution; or at least nothing he could directly do, though he still hesitated to ask his masked ally to intervene.

"Would it be possible to use our lower ranked single digits?"

Rimuto set aside his thoughts to focus on the speaker, a man dressed in a large black cloak with black bandages wrapped around his head so that only his yellow eyes were visible. Keeping his face devoid of emotion, Rimuto struggled to remember the Handler's name believing it to start with an 'E'. Considering just how precarious all of this was he couldn't risk forgetting names or details, not every member of the Organization got along and it was all so delicate that a personal feud could destroy everything.

"Ermita, if we do use them then how could we hope to control the Yoma fleeing into the other regions?" Rado asked tiredly. "We have only forty-seven warriors; our top four are hunting our best, since we would need to keep Number 10 here we can only send four after this new threat. To leave twenty warriors to try and maintain order in the lands that are experiencing such an influx of Yoma, could lead to the very real possibility of them awakening due to exhaustion– which would leave us with little option but to abandon this island and start our research some place else."

"There are risks, yes – but I think Dae may be correct in that the potential rewards are great enough to justify it." Ermita countered. "Besides, while I know that she is only recently certified as the new Number 6, Galatea has the capability of moving to an even higher rank…"

"Wait," Rimuto said abruptly, as the faint nagging of unease he had been ignoring from the beginning blossomed to the forefront of his mind. All eyes focused on him, he turned his attention to Dae instead "Tell me, is there any other unusual events associated with this flare of Yoki?"

"Yes." Dae said after a protracted moment, his tone unsure "It is almost anecdotal, but the seasons seem to have temporarily changed from autumn to spring."

Rimuto breathed in sharply as sudden realization flooded his mind.

"If this creature is capable of influencing _even _the seasons? We must try to-"

"Silence!" Rimuto shouted, cutting Rado off and shocking the others into silence. He never raised his voice or said 'no' with such finality, his role was the diplomat and leader, he couldn't afford to risk losing his cool like this over every little thing. The other elders shifted slightly in their seats, sharing the discomfort of everyone, but Riumto ignored it. "We will not attempt to bring this being in. I am aware of the true nature of this incident, and know for a fact that in this instance it would be better to simply leave it be."

At this pronouncement everyone stared at him in shock and disbelief, but he paid it no attention instead focusing on Dae. The disfigured man was staring back mutinously, which would have been amusing if not for the seriousness of the situation. The man was not used to being told that his urge to experiment was forbidden, and on the rare occasion when he was told such Dae always went behind their backs and did so anyway.

Rimuto usually turned a blind eye to such actions, but this time he could not allow it.

"What is it?" Rado asked, voicing the thoughts of the group.

"I am not at liberty to explain." Rimuto said, meeting the man's gaze passively "There is certain knowledge that only the Chief Elder has access of, and the knowledge of this being is one such example."

"But-" Dae started to protest before Rimuto fixed him with a glare.

"No." Rimuto said with cold authority "If we do _anything_ to provoke it, there is no doubt that the Organization would cease to exist in any capacity. It is not hostile, of that you may be assured, and so until we have no other choice we will not even attempt to _approach_ him about an alliance."

There was an uneasy mutterings of reluctant agreements, and the Handler known as Rubel tilted his wide-brimmed hat slightly to hide his semi-amused grin.

* * *

Teresa paused to stare at the shadows surrounding the impromptu camp, hand reaching for the hilt of her sword before relaxing. She almost laughed in self-consciousness, aware that her paranoia was growing. It was only natural to be paranoid, considering her current situation: it would only be a matter of time until the other higher-ranks came after her.

Yet it was more than such justified paranoia, it was beginning to take on a life of its own, squeezing her heart tightly and keeping her nerves on constant edge. It was feeding off the fear that now lingered within her heart, fear borne from the flare of unfathomable Yoki that had washed over the land not so long ago. It had flooded her every sense, making her own Yoki resonate and surge in response to its presence. Teresa had never before experienced such potent Yoki, she simply didn't have a scale of reference to the sheer breadth or scope of such power.

None of the Abyssal Ones even came close.

Feeling the weight on her shoulder shift slightly, her attention refocused to a slumbering Clare. Teresa grimaced angry at herself for scaring the poor girl, the Yoki had appeared only hours after dealing with the bandits and her reaction had left Clare a sobbing wreck. Reaching over Teresa gently stroked Clare's cheek, brushing the girl's hair away from her face, wondering what deity had decided to complicate her life in such a way.

Turning her gaze up, she took in the night sky, trying to gauge just how thick the Yoki still saturating the area was. It was an impossible task even for her, the Yoki coated everything and in so doing played havoc with her Yoki sensing.

Though, considering the insane amount of Yoki there was no doubt that the Organization would be in a state of panic, scrambling to find the source. Dae and his Retrieval Squad would be on the move already, along with the remaining single digit warriors – those who were not preoccupied with pursuing her – in an attempt to bring it under their control. Thinking about that allowed a brief flicker of hope to emerge, it was possible that the Organization would divert their attention from her execution, but the hope was short-lived.

_No._

There was no chance for a full reprieve of execution the Organization would wait until her death was confirmed before they tried to capture the source. They would never rush into pursuit of such an unknown entity without attempting to gather more intelligence on it; such rashness was un-characteristic of the Organization. Of course while Teresa was not inclined to tell them what she knew, that she **had** traced the source of the Yoki – even if she couldn't precisely pinpoint the location, there was a possibility that it could buy her a few weeks. But it would not buy her a lifetime with Clare and so she would not reveal her knowledge.

Clare shifted in her asleep abruptly, as if sensing Teresa's turmoil. Shifting around in an absent desperation for contact, the girl ended up snuggling against Teresa's lap mistaking it for a pillow, leaving the woman at a loss of exactly how to respond towards the sudden intimacy. The girl was constantly changing things, altering the world in ways that both bewildered and bemused Teresa.

Before Clare, Teresa would have never had a willingness to believe the outrageous story Naruto had told - or listened to it for that matter - nor would she have had motivation to slaughter those bandits to ensure Clare's safety. They were things Teresa would have never done since things such as compassion and mercy were completely alien concepts to her prior to their meeting.

Reaching down, she hesitated momentarily before slowly tracing a finger along the curve of the sleeping girl's cheek. Clare made a small noise of approval to the contact, relaxing slightly in her sleep– and Teresa stopped abruptly. It hit her once more just how selfish and cruel her actions in regard to Clare actually were; the innocent girl was wholly unaware of the danger swirling around them and genuinely believed that they would be together forever.

It was selfish, but she just could not bring herself to tell the little girl.

Teresa would be hunted for the rest of her life, that was for certain, and even for all her strength there would come a time where she would fall to the Organization. While optimistically her death would happen when Clare was much older, it was far more likely to happen soon. Leaving Clare at the mercy of the Organization who would take the abandoned girl and turn her into a warrior just like they had Teresa so many years earlier, forcing Clare to endure the same pain and despair that surrounded Teresa's life before meeting her.

Closing her eyes, Teresa sighed before pushing thoughts of the future aside. She re-opened her eyes to observe the girl and smiled warmly despite the grave situation at hand, resuming her gentle stroking of the smooth cheek, unconsciously humming a lullaby.


	5. Chapter 3: Clash of Power, Part 1

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Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 03: Clash of Power, Part 1  
**by Geor-sama

* * *

Naruto was moving aimlessly through the forest, not paying too much attention to where he stepped; and it was only thanks to his years of training that he still managed to avoid tripping. Normally he would be much more alert, especially in such foreign lands, but at the moment his mind wasn't quite up to dealing with the situation he now faced. This wasn't to say that he wasn't aware of his surroundings, Naruto was a ninja; it was just that he wasn't focusing on every minute detail.

It wasn't like Akatsuki was about to jump out from behind a tree and try to capture him, they were a non-issue now. He honestly didn't have to worry about another ninja ambushing him, and part of him mourned that development. Still such concerns and thoughts were submersed beneath the haze that filled his mind, obscuring his thoughts and emotions from conscious notice.

It would occasionally part, like it had the previous day when he came across the ruined village, but it would always return. After two days though, it was probably the only thing keeping him from going bonkers from the sheer monotony of constantly walking. Unfortunately, such a state could only be sustained before long before it failed to keep Naruto from noticing just how annoying it all really was.

Once he noticed that, he did the only thing he could do.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Naruto flung the toad contract down beneath a tree and then laid down with his head resting against the large scroll. He briefly considered taking a nap, but discarded that since his dreams -which had never been the most pleasent of things- were even worse now. So instead of sleeping he let his mind drift, though it avoided those he had lost and instead focused on his uncertain future - not only that, but he was left wondering about Clare and Teresa.

They were the only people he knew, and despite the fact that he had only met them, he was worried. They had been heading to Rokut, but by the time he had reached the village, it had been nothing more than blood-soaked ruins filled with the sickly—sweet stench of human decay. Hence, his worry...though it was focused mostly on Clare, Teresa he knew could handle anything stupid enough to attack her.

Closing his eyes, he frowned picturing the village and a nagging feeling of uncertainty filled him, there was something about the blood that was bothering him. He had suffered and inflicted enough injuries over his career as a ninja to know that blood went _everywhere_: which raised the question, why had there been a part of the street untouched? A perfect three hundred and sixty circle roughly three feet in diameter without a trace of blood.

It was impossible.

That much blood, the amount of carnage required in achieving that level of death, even he knew such a spot shouldn't exist. The more Naruto thought about it, the more he realized that the only plausible explanation was that the killer was inhumanly skilled with a sword, which was why he couldn't shake the feeling that Teresa had been standing there. Which begged the question, if it **was** Teresa, why exactly had she killed them.

No, that was wrong, she -or whatever had done this- had gone beyond that, they had slaughtered the bandits.

Of course even the assumption that they were bandits was only conjecture, a strong conjecture considering the clothes on the gutted and mutilated corpses. Also, the weapons were another strong hint; no way would villagers have swords and spears. So, back again to the question, why Teresa -or whoever was responsible- had decided she needed to slaughter them instead of disarming the bandits and turn them over to the proper authorities?

The only answers he could see were not pleasant thoughts: either they were a murderous psycho -in which case he really hoped it **wasn't** Teresa- or there was no _proper authority_.

The sound of a scream jerked him out of his drifting thoughts and onto his feet in a matter of seconds, eyes sweeping his surroundings with an alertness that bordered on frightening. Ears straining he listened for the slightest noise – for the first time thankful for the eerie quiet that filled the forest – but nothing came. After several long minutes he let out a silent breath and decided that he must have imagined the scream.

Shaking his head he bent to retrieve the toad contract when the sound of something crashing through the forest reached him. Releasing the leather strap of the large scroll, Naruto frowned in concentration listening to the odd rhythm of breaking branches and heavy footfalls. A second later he spun around as a kunai fell from his forearm holster into his hand seconds before a wounded man came barreling out of the trees. Taking aim, Naruto flicked his wrist throwing the bladed weapon while simultaneously calling for the man to duck.

The man collapsed into a headlong dive, revealing what had been chasing him. It did little more than grunt at the impact as Naruto's kunai struck its heavily muscled chest, but Naruto was already on the move; hurtling over the prone man and planting a kick in the face of the twisted looking creature. Using the impact to somersault away from the creature, skidding back along the ground, Naruto got a good look at what it was: it was roughly human shaped but with gray-green skin, sickly yellow eyes, and a near bestial face with a mouth full of jagged teeth.

Adopting a casual fighting stance, Naruto waited to see if it got back up, and when it did the only thing that surprised him was its speed in doing so. Reaching up the creature wrenched the kunai free before crushing it with a flexing of its hand. When its yellow eyes turned to him it smiled inhumanly wide, and started talking "GA-gA-gA! You have guts for a weakling. I wonder what they'll taste like."

"Like Ramen." Naruto shot back, unsure of if he could actually bring himself to kill the thing now. If it had just roared and grunted, there would be no problem but it seemed intelligent-

"Don't get distracted now!" It shouted as it closed the distance between them in an instance, its monstrous hand grabbing his neck and hauling him off the ground. "Ga-ga-ga, don't worry I won't kill you just yet… I want to hear you scream while I eat your guts!"

"Thanks," Naruto grunted as the grip tightened around his throat before the Yoma cried out in pain as Naruto snapped its elbow, forcing it to release him. Landing in a low crouch Naruto lunged forward, chakra gathered in his right hand, slamming a Rasengan into the creature's stomach. Its muscles strained against the technique, but ultimately it was over powered and sent spiraling backwards leaving behind a trail of blood and gore.

It hit a tree with enough force to snap it in half, the top half toppling away from the impact. The creature managed to remain upright for a moment leaning back against what remained of the tree revealing only a slightly bruised stomach before it sagged forward, falling face first to the ground. Naruto approached the creature cautiously, staring at the Yoma while he bit his tongue to hold back the bile.

The Rasengan had done what he had always kept it from doing before. While the Rasengan left only a bruise at the spot of impact, the chakra had continued spiraling through the body and obliterated the entire backside of the creature. Coming to a stop, Naruto stared down at what remained of the exposed innards; made up of nearly non-existent organs pierced with half-obliterated bone fragments.

Even at his most vengeful moments, Naruto had never allowed the Rasengan to do such damage to someone. He had instinctively held back; his subconscious telling him that he simply couldn't stomach such cruelty. Now staring at the results of the dying creature, he wasn't sure _even_ a Yoma deserved such a death. His thoughts were interrupted when the thing started yammering, its sickly yellow eyes staring up at him with a mad hunger.

"G-gonna eat your guts-" the Yoma said with a froth of purple blood bubbling in its mouth "-gonna eat your guts and listen to you scream..."

"If I was younger," Naruto admitted thickly summoning the sword he had sealed in his hand "I'd be running away screaming right about now." Lifting the sword aloft, he stared down at the gibbering Yoma trying to hold back the pity eating away at the back of his mind. "But I've seen scarier things now, and I'm also pretty sure that you'll die if I cut your head off."

Despite his words and resolve Naruto still hesitated, and then brought his sword down on its neck with brutal force. Unfortunately he failed to slice all the through on the first try, and jerking the sword free struck twice more before finally severing its head. Stepping back he jabbed the sword into the ground before ducking behind a tree to vomit, wiping the bile away from his mouth with the back of his hand as he straightened up.

"A-art you well?" An uncertain voice asked from behind him.

"Y-yeah," Naruto managed, turning to face the man who had one side of his face was caked with blood and was using a hand to hold onto a tree for support. "I've never done that to anything remotely human looking..."

"Oh." The man managed, looking a little uncomfortable before going rigid, his eyes widening in panic "The caravan! By the goddesses, I have to-"

"Wait–what caravan?" Naruto asked in surprise grabbing his sword. "Which way?"

"T-that way." The man directed, pointing to the left and Naruto took off at full speed.

* * *

The Yoma charged at her, its bestial face twisted into a snarl.

Her sword rang as it slid free of its sheath between her pauldrons, slashing around in a smooth arc as she ducked beneath the outstretched arms. The claymore sliced effortlessly through muscle and bone, severing each limb with a spray of purple blood. Its bestial cry of pain was nothing as she turned and brought her blade down diagonally along its back, slicing the spine in half, causing it to collapse.

The Yoma, frozen from the incapacitating pain from the assault, never stood a chance as she brought her blade back around in a nearly casual backhand; lopping its head off. The resulting silence after the brief flash of violence was almost mesmerizing, but she shook off its pull, and with sharp slash she cleared her blade of the foul blood to sheathe it once more. Ignoring the blood pooling on the ground, creeping ever closer to her, she turned away focusing instead on the countryside.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath savoring the faint scent of honeysuckle and the refreshing cool breeze from the clear sky. Mucha was green lands and mountains, far different than either the desert of the East or the icy wastelands of the North, and somehow it managed to even be different than the forests of Lautrec or Toulouse. She had been born here, had spent much of her young life in this place, and memories of these scents had been the only comfort she had in the early days of her training.

Breathing out slowly, she opened her eyes, surveying the dirt road.

"You're improving, Apolline." A familiar voice said from behind. She turned slightly to face the man; he was standing casually in the shade of the trees dressed in a long, black hooded cloak that obscured much of his face. "It didn't even have a chance to dodge, at this rate you may regain your rank of Number 6 soon enough."

"Oulu." Apolline said blandly, turning completely to face her Handler. "Something is going on with the Yoma. A single Yoma would never willingly face a Claymore in the open, is this why you've sent me south?"

"Not quite." Oulu said, his lips twitching into a brief smile "As you've noticed something has changed the behavior of Yoma, and it should be fairly obvious as to what it was–yes?"

"The huge flare of Yoki from two weeks ago." Apolline said, raising an eyebrow to reveal a hint of her surprise. It was a habit she picked up from dealing with the public, it made them more comfortable around her.

"Exactly. It caused a lot of problems, not the least of which is causing the Yoma to flee Mucha. A few have trickled back into the region, but most are still desperately trying to escape the area." Oulu explained, chuckling. "That is why we've asked you to proceed south with all haste, to the town of Resembul to meet up with some of your fellow Senshi."

"Are we hunting it?" Apolline asked passively, wondering why the Organization would be sending her out. If they were sending her to Resembul she would be close to encroaching on the current location of the slumbering Abyssal One. Luciela of the South tolerated little in the way of rivals, and absolutely abhorred anyone of the Organization. It was for this reason that bandits made Mucha home, after all while Yoma were a threat here as they were everywhere, the odds of being eaten were vastly reduced.

"No." Oulu said his head turning down the road, gaze fixed to the far distance. "This Yoki–whatever released it is powerful. Vastly beyond the scope of anything we've ever encountered. However, rather than it being hostile we believe it to be a potential ally...we're sending you and the others to approach this being, to find a way to make it align itself with us."

"What about Teresa?" Apolline asked, allowing a frown to show "Last I heard we had sent the Numbers 5 – 2 after her, surely she is not so powerful as to defeat them all."

"No, we've encountered a problem there." Oulu admitted, turning back to stare at her "The pursuit of Teresa was already underway when the flare of Yoki hit, effectively hindering the warriors ability to sense Yoki. This inconvenience has only now subsided enough that tracking is once more possible."

"I see." Apolline said, once more feeling a spike of unease at the knowledge that Teresa had betrayed the Organization, but this she hid. It was something all warriors that were aware of the situation were dealing with, and bringing it up would do nothing but worry the Handlers. Instead she focused on the task being assigned to her, leaving her to wonder what exactly they were sending her to face it. "How are you so sure that this being is not hostile?"

"Chief Elder Rimuto believes it to not be a danger, he has actually urged us to leave it be until it decided to approach us. However many of the other elders are unwilling to wait, so we are sending you to try and establish contact." Oulu paused, unease clear in his voice "The other elders rarely go against a decision of Chief Elder Rimuto, and only do so when they believe it to be of an imperative nature."

"I see." Apolline said. Everything he had just told her, and especially that added explanation, were unneeded as far as she was concerned. Apolline was a warrior, sworn to serve the Organization so it mattered little to her what she was ordered to do- it had to be a warning then. What exactly Oulu was warning about, or against she didn't know, but she would need to be more mindful than ever.

"As for your team, we've assigned Numbers 9 through to 6 for this task, the same as a hunt for an Awakened Being." Oulu said "Your orders are to locate the source of the Yoki and through _any means necessary –_ get it to form an alliance with the Organization."

"Any means?" Apolline reiterated, giving him a shrewd look making sure she understood him.

"Any." Oulu repeated firmly, then after a beat of silence added. "The Yoki has stirred all of the Abyssal Ones, but due to its proximity it seems to have awakened _**her**_**.** You and the others must discover the cause before she locates the source, and under _**no**_ circumstances are you to engage her in a fight."

"I understand." Apolline said after a protracted moment as an involuntary shiver trailed up her back. Luciela of the South was awake and well on the move to search for the mysterious Yoki. "We'll be finished before she arrives."

* * *

"Alana."

_A winged-Yoma swooped down from the sky, and in a gout of blood tackled one of the guards, snarling as it rode him to the ground smashing him face first into the ground._

"No. No. No…"

_Another guard's screams were cut short as the shoulders of the heavily muscled Yoma surged, tearing him in half. _

"Alana, it's okay!"

_A fleeing guard gasped and gurgled as the spear- like fingers of the largest Yoma dragged him slowly back. _

"Alana," her dad whispered, cradling her against his chest in an attempt to shield her from the monstrosity. "Are you —are you all right?"

"Yes," Alana murmured weakly, stomach churning, unable to look away from the guards face turned toward her, with its dulled eyes and lipless mouth giving her a death grin. Failing to hold the sightless gaze of the dead man she closed her eyes, swallowing thickly trying to force the bile to stay down. In a way closing her eyes only made what was happening worse, over the noise of her racing heart and her father's heavy breathing she could hear the Yoma feeding.

The noises were strange, taunting her to look yet again to see what exactly those monsters were doing to the formerly living men. It had all gone so horribly, horribly wrong and she didn't want to see or know, but still she found her eyes opening once more. At first all she could see were those horribly dead eyes, but against her will, her attention shifted up; towards the largest Yoma hovering over the guard licking the blood on its long and horrible fingers like it was gravy.

Her throat burned as she lost her fight against the bile in her throat, but her father didn't seem to notice. The soft murmuring told her wasn't even paying attention to the world; he was focused on something else. Shakily she awkwardly turned her gaze up toward him, unsurprised to find his eyes closed and mouth moving faintly in the rote litany of a prayer.

"Why do they always pray?" The shortest and most muscular of the three Yoma asked as it suddenly came into view grabbing her father's hair, while seizing her own arm and yanking them apart. Dropping her without looking it tossed her father to the ground a few feet away. "It never helps and it's annoying."

The impact had temporarily knocked the air out of her father, but he refused to stop. Clutching his hands tighter together he continued to pray "Through the mighty strength of the Trinity, we ask for a mighty downpour from Heaven, may you hear the voices of your sons and daughters. Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation and deliver us from this evil-"

"Maybe it does help." The Winged Yoma taunted, turning its attention away from the still warm intestines of the gutted torso it had been feeding on.

"Does it really work?" The Short Yoma questioned, lacings its fingers together in a mockery of a prayer before laughing and grabbing his face "Save your breath for the screams, your god doesn't exist, and just for annoying me I'm going to eat your guts while you're still alive."

"W-why are you doing this!" Alana shouted, staring at the Yoma who was stalking around her father who refused to stop praying despite its taunts. "WHY!"

"Because it makes you afraid." The Largest Yoma answered, letting the leftovers of the husk he had been feeding on fall to the ground as he moved toward her in a strange lopping gait. Crouching before them, the Yoma smiled revealing its blood-soaked teeth as it cupped her chin with a large, meaty hand "Human guts taste good fresh, but they taste so much better when you're terrified."

Alana gagged at the sick-foul breath that washed over her face as it spoke, trying to flinch away from it. Oh god, please, someone help them...

"Hey! Why are you two talking like you'll get to eat their guts?" The Winged Yoma protested, drawing the other Yoma's attention. "We never agreed on who would get to eat who. It was first-come, first-serve!"

"It was my idea to wait here and ambush a caravan before we went north." The Large Yoma snarled, releasing her chin roughly to glower down at the Winged Yoma.

"It was my idea!" The Short Yoma shouted, stalking away from her still-praying father to confront its companions "I should get to eat whoever I damn well please."

Alana watched the three-arguing Yoma in a daze of confusion and disbelief, they were arguing on who should be eating them and she was sitting here in her stained clothes watching. A white hot fury welled up within, and when she saw a discarded sword gleaming within reach, she instinctively reached for it-

"Stop!"

Alana froze solid, eyes widening in terror as she looked at the Small Yoma that had shouted. But its attention was fixed on something else and turning her attention in that direction, she found what had caught its attention. The Yoma were staring at the line of trees where their fourth member had went rushing off earlier, and her breathing stopped as a blond man wearing a tattered long red and black jacket emerged from the surrounding forest.

"Huh, what the hell? Is he crazy just to come walking up to us?" The Winged Yoma asked, stunned.

"Gahgaha, he's carrying a sword!" The Larger Yoma said with a sudden barking laugh, drawing amusement from his other kin. "This solves everything doesn't it? We all get a special snack!"

"You two can fight over the girl and old man," The Small Yoma said rushing toward the mysterious man "I'll just eat his guts–"

It happened all at once, in both blind speed and seemingly slow motion, all with perfect crystal clarity: the man seemed to disappear with a flicker of red and black flames, only to immediately reappear behind the attacking Yoma. The Small Yoma exploded with a sudden spurt of purple blood from the chest, before toppling to the ground in two halves while the blond causally discarded the now broken blade and directed his attention to the two remaining monsters.

"What the... Who–what are you?" The Large Yoma shouted, stumbling back from the scene "You're not a Claymore!"

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto announced flatly before disappearing with another flicker of black and red flames. Suddenly the Large Yoma doubled over as Naruto appeared in front of him, fist buried in its stomach, and then a second later the Naruto was somehow in the air over the momentarily helpless Yoma. Impossibly Naruto seemed to hang in mid-air before he extended a single leg over head and dropped to the ground slamming the heel of it into the back of the Yoma's head, driving the Yoma face first into the ground with a ridiculously loud 'crack', creating a crater from the impact.

"Impossible!" The Winged Yoma exclaimed before realizing the danger it now faced and launched itself into the air.

Naruto craned his neck, eyes tracking the flying Yoma as he scooped up a discarded sword and vanished in a silent blur. He reappeared high in the air, blade sweeping from its space near his waist, severing the wing of the Yoma. Its remaining wing flapped helplessly against the air before it started to plummet in a spiral descent, aided by Naruto kicking it away as they separated.

Twisting around in mid air, jacket bellowing out to create wings of black and red flames, Naruto sent his sword flying impaling the Yoma. An instant later Naruto crashed back to the earth and rolled across the ground, before regaining his feet, empty handed but victorious.

Alana stared at him in hushed awe, as if coming face to face with God or the Twin Goddess'. She was unable to completely absorb the significance: he was tall, his hair sun-bright yellow, sun-kissed skin and impossibly handsome. He had to be a 'Burning One'; one of the fiery angles that were the caretakers of God's throne and before whom none could stand for fear of their righteous flames consuming them.

As unconsciousness claimed her she managed one word "Seraph."

* * *

The town was small and quiet, the kind of place that a stranger would not go unnoticed. Lining the cobbled street – which few villages bothered doing – were homes and businesses, all of which seemed to convey a warm welcome that other places lacked. Even the night watchmen were polite and friendly, willing to help a stranger find their way with little prompting.

It was an ideal hunting ground for the Yoma, and it was a wonder that Yoma had not already wiped out the village

Apolline tilted her head back as she scanned the night sky, briefly considering the shine of the stars and the chill of the cool air, before turning her gaze back to the road before her. Streets and alleys passed without real notice, until at last she came to a stop before an unremarkable single story building where she could sense the Yoki of three of her sisters. Reaching out she grasped the handle and opened the door, pausing on the threshold for a moment before entering.

The livingroom was simple enough, illuminated by the lantern flickering overhead, revealing a couch and a solitary woman with short platinum blonde hair tucked behind her ears reclining against a wall.

"Apolline, Number 7."

"Hilda, Number 9." The other warrior said, pushing off the wall casually. "The others are in the backroom."

The backroom was nearly as simple as the first, if it wasn't for the two worn couches and the crackling fire in the stone hearth they would have been identical. Not counting of course the two occupants: one was seated on the furthest end of the couch from the door, while another stood staring into the dancing flames. Neither seemed to give any indication that they had noticed her or Hilda entering - but that hardly surprised Apolline.

"She's here." Hilda said, moving to a corner of the room and leaned against it, crossing her arms once more.

"Apolline, Number 7."

"Lucia, Number 8." The woman with sandy blonde hair, sitting on the couch said, getting to her feet.

"Galatea, Number 6." The youngest of the three, with long ash-blonde hair, said turning away from the fire wearing a smug grin. "I'm glad to see you made it, I was worried something might have happened."

"I'm a single digit as well." Apolline said dryly, staring at the younger woman "I was, until recently Number 6. Just because you've been certified so high at such a young age does not make you that much stronger than me."

"Mmm." Galatea agreed pleasantly "So, now that we're all here shall we begin?"

"What about Number 5?" Hilda asked, sounding curious.

"There has been several changes in the ranks," Apolline explained, indicating to Galatea "though I was expecting Elda to be the new Number 6 since there was a newly certified Number 2."

"The Organization decided she would be best utilized in overseeing the training of the trainees." Galatea admitted with a shrug "So it's just us."

"Ok," Lucia said, frowning slightly "but that still doesn't explain why the new one isn't here."

"Numbers 5 and above are dealing with another issue." Apolline said dismissively before bringing them all back to the task at hand "It will be just the four of us and I assume we are all aware of the exact nature of this mission – correct?"

"Find the mysterious Yoki," Lucia announced with a casual flip of her hand "Negotiate to form an alliance with the Organization, before Luciela of the South finds it."

"Don't forget, we are allowed to use whatever methods our leader deems viable to achieve the alliance." Hilda added, before glancing at Galatea "Speaking of which, we are all aware that you're the highest rank of us, but your still only recently certified. Are you up to the task of assuming command?"

"I have little experience in leading a group," Galatea admitted freely, "which is why I have decided to let Apolline take the lead. She is both the second highest rank amongst us and the most experienced with such tasks."

"Very well." Apolline said, showing no emotion toward the lie that Galatea had just told. It was standard procedure after all, for more experienced Senshi, no matter what the rank difference was, to take the lead should there be a newly certified warrior. But Apolline did deciding that she unequivocally disliked Galatea, she was too young and too arrogant for her taste. "So, does anyone have an idea of his location?"

The answer to that question was a 'No' from all three.

"It hasn't been that long since the flare of Yoki." Hilda suggested after a moment "If we start checking the villages as we move toward the furthest part of the south-west, we'll most likely stumble across it."

"If it was a Yoma or Awakened Being the tactic would work, but I don't think it is. The Organization desperately wants an alliance with it after all." Lucia countered "So if it is anything like us, it will avoid the villages unless it has a specific purpose."

"I agree. So what about tracking it through its Yoki?" Apolline suggested "Such a massive amount of Yoki would be easy once we got into the area."

"Unless it is suppressing it." Hilda pointed out.

"It would be impossible to completely suppress such a large amount of Yoki." Galatea said confidently "Once we are in the area I will be able to sense it, no matter how faint it is."

"How can you be so certain?" Hilda asked, frowning at the younger girl.

"I excel at reading and manipulating Yoki." Galatea offered politely, but beneath that was a hint of superiority.

"It's our best option." Apolline said after a moment, bringing the meeting to a close. Retrieving their swords, Lucia and Hilda began to file out of the room, with Galatea trailing after them. Reaching out to grab the younger warriors arm, Apolline lowered her voice "I hope you're as good as you believe yourself to be."

"There is a reason." Galatea said calmly, not glancing at the towering woman whose hand spontaneously released Galatea's arm. "To why I am Number 6 and you are Number 7."

Apolline stood frozen as the younger woman left. She turned her gaze toward her trembling hand; she had not meant to release the younger woman's arm, and yet her hand had done just that. It was as if some outside influence had temporarily seized control of her body, making it act against her will– so that was the true power of the Organization's Number 6.

A chill ran up the spine of Apolline as she realized that for all of Galatea's current strength, the young woman was only to grow stronger.

* * *

**AN:**

_**Seraph**_ (Seraphim plural): literally meaning 'Burning Ones' are angels in Judaic/Christian theology that are beings of flames who continuously surround the Throne of God singing his praises. They are mentioned in the Book of Isaiah, not only praising god and acting his attendants but also performing an act of purification for the prophet. Within Christianity they are, in conjunction with the Cherubim, the angles who stand nearest the Throne of God and are in constant communication with Him.

I figured that given the 'religion' of this universe, this would be the most likely nickname Naruto would receive. Also, before anyone asks, Naruto was not using the chakra of the Kyūbi (or Sage Chakra) as he tore these Yoma apart. What Alana saw was an optical illusion: Naruto was moving so fast that his sage jacket (red with black flames on the edges) created the illusion of flickering flames.

_**Rasengan: **_I shouldn't have to talk about the amount of damage the Rasengan did, but I know people will comment so here we go: Compare the amount of damage Naruto caused to that Water Tower (He blew a massive hole out the back of it while leaving only a tiny impact point) to the amount of damage Jiraiya did on the former Iwa Chūnin while in the brothel. This indicates that the Rasengan can be as lethal as the user wants it to be and since Naruto is not a sadistic psychopath in canon (Shinobi Wars is something else entirely) I figure that once he realized the amount of damage his attack was capable of, he began holding it back, possibly even unconsciously.

_**Naruto Fight: **_The attacks were **Yellow Flash Speed Burst **(Minato used this in 'Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 5'), **Tsūtenkyaku** -Painful Sky Leg- (First seen in Chapter 163 when Tsunade used it against Orochimaru and Kabuto) **Gamadosuzan** -Toad Sword Beheading- (First seen in Chapter 135, Gamabunta used this against the Ichibi during the invasion against Konoha). I chose three taijutsu moves as Naruto could have picked up over the years, learned from the Toads, or simply figured out on his own.

Oh and the sword breaking on Naruto after he killed the one Yoma was a nod to the first appearance of Saito Hajime from Rounin Kenshin. Honestly, Kenshin and Saito are just too Awesome for words and everybody else only wishes they were as Awesome as either of them.


	6. Chapter 4: Clash of Power, Part 2

Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 04: ****Clash of Power, Part 2  
**by Geor-sama

* * *

The town was decent enough in size, made up mostly from soldiers, which was to be expected considering Dereham was noted as being the military power of Lautrec. Of course as impressive as that was, it ultimately meant very little once the killing begun. Yoma were hard, but not impossible to deal with for such a powerful military force, but 'Awakened Beings' were something else all together: the typical Awakened Being could devour half a town's population in a matter of hours.

But Dereham had faced a situation so far removed from 'typical' that it was a laughable concept. Not only had Dereham been forced to deal with **two** Awakened Beings, but one was an 'Abyssal One' a being of such great power that the Organization refused to move against it for fear of being left in shambles. More to the point Dereham had been forced to deal with Riful of the West, the former Number 1 and the youngest Warrior in history to awaken, who many considered possibly the strongest of the three Abyssal Ones that haunted the lands.

Even without this knowledge about the events that had occurred here, Uchiha Madara would have still been unsurprised to discover the powerful town little more than ruins made of burning roofs, toppled stone walls, streets stained with blood and the air thick with the stench of death. After all he had come through an era of war and senseless death, most caused by his own actions, which had resulted in his complete desensitization to such sights and smells.

One the other hand, Madara was not a monster, and so as he strolled the ruined streets he paused occasionally to put a few lingering children out of their misery before continuing on.

Even with such acts of mercy, he soon found the two beings he had come to speak with; ironically he found them in the midst of feeding. Sadly he was once more unsurprised or bothered by what he found, it was hardly the first time he had encountered flesh eaters and many of the poorer nations during his time had boasted cannibalistic groups. Still as he watched the two, Madara finally observed something that _did_ elicit surprise; this was the first time he had ever seen anything take such pleasure in toying with lives.

Keeping a wary eye on the two he moved from the street to the only roof that seemed in stable condition he watched as the two played a twisted game of tag with the few remaining humans. He debated idly on intervening, perhaps saving the poor fools, but ultimately did nothing; he was a shadow of his former self, he couldn't afford to waste his strength on such trivial acts. So Madara watched the tragic play below, reviewing his plan once more, and wondering if he would ever be able to reclaim even a portion of his former strength.

It had been a year since he had woken up (in a ruined tower overrun with what he later learned were Yoma) and since that time he had learned much. More than his current ally Elder Rimuto could possibly guess, but there had been no great urgency to his actions, but all of that had changed a few weeks ago. With the abrupt arrival of Uzumaki Naruto 'The Second God Sage of Shinobi', Madara had no choice but to start moving his pieces now in preparation for their inevitable confrontation.

It was almost too much to hope that the boy would let him explain his goals, or the fact that he no longer had an interest in attaining peace through use of the Bijū or his moon's eye plan. It was a hard thing to admit, but Naruto had achieved the one thing all of the previous enemies of the nigh-immortal Uchiha had failed to do. Both Hashirama and Mintao had only delayed his plans, taken away his preferred weapon, but it was Uzumaki Naruto that had finally defeated him.

It was a nebulous defeat, after all Madara had not given up on bringing peace, but for the first time he had accepted that power was not the way to peace. Of course he had no illusions that love was the way either, but still, Madara counted his shift in outlook as true defeat. Letting out a heavy breath, convinced that he was getting to old for this, the Uchiha crossed his arms and closed his eyes for a moment.

"Hey, are you going to stand there all day?" A delicate child-like voice asked, most likely hoping to eliciting shock.

"Sorry," Madara said after a protracted moment, glancing at the blood-flecked young girl sitting beside him on the ridge of the roof. "When you get older you spend a lot of time thinking about things."

"Ooooh," she drawled out, brown eyes widening slightly in childlike innocence. The effect was ruined of course by the gore in her hair and the blood smeared messily around her mouth. "But grandpa can't be _that_ old."

"You'd be surprised." Madara countered seconds before allowing a large rod filled with Yoki to pass harmlessly through his body. Not batting an eye from the attack, he glanced at the scowling figure of the male Awakened Being in the street below, before asking her offhandedly "He's a rather violent one isn't he?"

"What can I say? Dauf isn't much on intelligence, or manners, or well any good points really...but he is loyal." The girl said shrugging a shoulder as she bent a leg and rested her chin on the knee. "Do you want to play?"

"Kukuku, do you take me for a fool Riful of the West?" Madara asked a split-second before teleporting to another roof as the spot where he had been standing was destroyed by a spike of dark material. Seeing her surprise, he smiled while allowing more rods from Dauf to pass harmlessly through him "Besides, I didn't come here to play."

"Granpa's no fun." Riful countered with a pout, but there was no mistaking that calculating look she was wearing. An instant later she was perched on the shoulder of a seething Dauf, her features set in a serious gaze. "So, what brings something like you here to see me?"

"Something, not someone?" Madara asked, intrigued.

"You have no Yoki," Riful said in a flat tone, lacking any hint of her earlier playfulness "but you do have chakra. That makes you some_thing_ other than us, and since we are as far removed from humans as they are from cows...well, you can see the logic I'm sure."

"Insightful." Madara said, clapping his hands "I assume you learned about chakra during your time as a Claymore?"

"I can't remember much of the past before joining the Organization, and even most of my time as a warrior has been lost." Riful said, her gaze seeming to stare back through time. "But I remember both the civil war and the man they called the Mizukage. I awakened in battle against him after all, so it shouldn't be a surprise I remember that."

"I didn't know about that," Madara chortled, easing his aching body into a casual sitting position on the roof, thinking dark thoughts once more about the spotty records of the Organization. "They seem to have a hard time keeping records on such notable going on's."

"I also remember hearing this quote a lot 'Give a man the truth, and he'll never stop to wonder what else you're hiding from him.'" Riful said, her tone turning sweet "You know, after hearing that often enough I just **had** to find out what they Organization was keeping from me with their rules against Awakening."

"Of course," Madara agreed with a negligent flick of his wrist though a bit disturbed by hearing that old saying. He could remember saying that when posing as the first Mizukage, and then a century later hearing Yagura the Fourth Mizukage saying, so to know it had survived this far down the line was a bit strange "as for why I'm here, Riful of the West, it is because I would like to take over the Organization-"

"Boring!" Riful announced abruptly in a sing-song fashion, her personality shifting quickly back to that of a young child "Grandpa is disappointing me."

"Sorry, but it just happens that my true goal requires I take control of that group." Madara said sitting forward to rest an elbow on his knee, easing the tension on his lower back "Eventually I plan on taking control of all the people, but this first step is crucial...but it will also require that I deal with you and the other Abyssal Ones, not counting all the little pests, first."

"Mhmm." Riful said, head tilting slightly to the side as she regarded him.

"So rather than waste resources fighting _three_ Abyssal Ones, I thought what if I combine my strength with one? An alliance between my Organization and an Abyssal One would create a united front that the other two couldn't hope to stand against."

"Ohoh, so you want me to lend you my strength against the others?" Riful said, her face thoughtful, finger pressing against her chin "But what happens after that?"

"After that? Why what else, I unite the land...and you, along with Dauf of course, get to go right on doing what you're doing." Madara said spreading his hands wide "Only you won't have to confine yourselves to one part of the land. If you're the only two Awakened Beings feeding, then there will be plenty for you to eat and plenty of things for me to do to stay occupied."

"It _is_ getting boring." Riful agreed thoughtfully, blinking up at him "And I do hate that Man of the North. Not to mention that the Woman of the South is selfish..."

"Something else you might need to think about," Madara offered pleasantly, pleased to see that his negotiations were going so well "is that if your numbers keeping escalating, you'll run out of people fairly quickly, quickly by our standards at least. Not to mention that the Organization is constantly on the hunt for ways to curtail such an outcome, in the four years it'll take for me to seize control they could accomplish much."

"I don't know, grandpa is right, but I can't decide if I should trust him or not." Riful responded, head tilting back as he considered the sky before her gaze returned to him "Maybe if Grandpa told me what woke us up..."

"Oh, that." Madara said heavily, getting back to his feet and stretching to loosen his joints slightly before teleporting to the blood-soaked street directly in front of two Awakened Beings "That was the arrival of The Second God Sage of Shinobi Uzumaki Naruto in the lands of Mucha. I have no idea what he will do, but he is far stronger than any of us can possibly fathom...all I can say for certain is that you'll get to meet him eventually. He won't stay in one place for long it's just not in his nature."

"But he had Yoki." Riful countered her tone flat and frightening.

"He has both Yoki and Chakra," Madara corrected politely, not bothering to try and explain that they were in essence the same thing "His title is well earned, but as I said Riful of the West you'll get to met him soon enough. Let me know about our alliance soon."

Then, before she could respond Madara activated his Jikūkan Idō and disappeared from the heart of Lautrec and reappeared to the border between Mucha and Toulouse. Taking a moment to absorb his surroundings, Madara started walking. "All things considered I think that went rather well."

After a moment he started whistling.

* * *

Naruto drifted out of sleep into a state of half-awareness, arms and legs spread akimbo, wondering blearily why he was awake. Scratching his thigh, Naruto sleepily debated on going back to sleep or waking up. Decision made Naruto rolled over, burying his head beneath a pillow, only for the realization that he couldn't quite remember where exactly he was...which meant there was no earthly way he could continue sleeping.

Tossing the pillow aside he sat up, taking in his current location - which turned out to be a somewhat lavish room, his Toad Contract propped in the corner near a dresser across the room from a large two door cabinet that was located near an open door that led out to a balcony that allowed for a glimpse of rooftops. But what had caught Naruto's attention was none of that, or the four-poster bed with its deep red velvet curtains and small-mountain of pillows he was currently sitting on, but rather the tapestry directly across from his bed. The reason said tapestry had caught his attention was because it depicted a nude woman riding a horse down a deserted city street.

Huh.

Seeing that tapestry brought it all back and he had to grimace as he remembered that last night had included yet another celebration feast filled with well-wishers. Only this time it had been at the Estate of Viscount Melehan, who ruled not only this village but several smaller ones, and was apparently greatly indebted to Naruto who had, in the process of rushing to the rescue of Graham and his daughter, saved his favorite nephew from a Yoma.

His skin crawled at the mere thought of the man, and it was not entirely because he had a low opinion on most nobility. There was some instinct inside him screaming that he should no trust the Viscount too much, or at all really. Naruto sat there for another moment and then pulling his eyes away from the tapestry, he swung his legs off the side and then recoiled as his feet touched the cold stone floor, grumbling he eased his feet back down and then stood.

Stretching quickly before cracking his neck, he let out a near silent sigh of relief, before crossing the room to the cabinet where he found the clothes he had been wearing for the last few weeks since accepting Merchant Graham's invitation to stay with them. Not that he particularly enjoyed handing over his clothes, but they were in need of not only repair but cleaning, even Naruto had understood that fact.

Still that left him with black leather boots, pants, and a white shirt - oh, how he missed his normal clothes. Sighing he finished dressing and moved to the dresser where he kept his hip pouch and forehead protector, but found only his hip pouch. Frowning he opened each drawer and found no sign of his forehead protector, and he started frantically trying to remember what he had done with it last night after getting back from that feast with the Viscount.

Last night was a bit blurry admittedly, but Naruto was fairly sure that he'd made it back to his room with all of his possessions. Crossing his arms, Naruto considered the situation and what he should do now; he could always make Kage Bunshin and have them search for it. But Naruto was keeping his 'special abilities' hidden from pretty much everyone, they were already in awe of him, if he did anything more outrageous it could only get worse.

Thankfully he was saved from having to debate the situation by polite knocking at his door.

"Yes?" Naruto called, shifting his stance slightly in case whoever was on the other side of the door was less than friendly. He doubted that was the case, but then again this land was filled with shape-shifting monsters that ate the guts of people and enjoyed it.

"Master Naruto," A voice called back somewhat hesitant, a young boy from the sound of it "Its Gilroy. I have a package for you, from the Viscount."

"Viscount?" Naruto asked, bewildered, as the door opened (cautiously slow) allowing a young dark haired boy to enter he relaxed completely. The young boy, dressed in a drab shirt and pants stood just inside the doorway, holding a neatly wrapped bundle. Shaking his confusion off, Naruto rolled his eyes at the brat "Gil, we've been over this. I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oh, of course." Gilroy said, looking embarrassed as he approached the bed and began opening the package for him "But you'll have to forgive me, once you've been threatened with disembowelment for trying to get someone's clothes mended and cleaned you grow wary of them when entering their room."

"I was asleep when you came in," Naruto huffed in exasperation, wishing the boy would let that go already. Hell, was it his fault that the first morning after they arrived the kid thought he'd just enter Naruto's room and start trying to take his stuff? "Speaking of missing clothes, did you happen to take my forehead protector when you got my clothes cleaned last night?"

"Huh?"

"You know," Naruto said gesturing as he described it "black cloth with a metal plate attached. I had it in my pocket, but it shouldn't need any kind of attention."

"Oh." Gil said in sudden understanding "You demanded I give you the forehead protector when I took your clothes."

"I, well then what the hell did I do with it?" Naruto asked, turning his attention back to the bed. A quick ransacking eventually revealed his forehead protector under one of the many pillows he had been using and almost compulsively he checked to make sure that Iruka's note was still in place. Satisfied, Naruto tied it around his forehead, flashing Gil a friendly grin as he did so. "This is really important to me, if I lost it I don't know what I'd do."

"So I've noticed," Gilory said, returning his smile before gesturing at the unwrapped bundle "Now, what do you wish of me to do with this gift from the Viscount?"

"Eh, let's see." Naruto muttered, moving to stare at the gift, only to chuckle as he picked it up. The gift turned out to be a long dark red coat with an inner vest sewn into it and lined with gleaming bronzed buttons. "Wow, he really does feel indebted to me huh?"

"It would appear so," Gilory said politely, taking the jacket from Naruto and holding it out to help him put it on.

Rolling his eyes, Naruto put the coat on not bothering the buttons on the vest, turning around to nod at his current companion. "So, anything else?"

"Nothing yet Master Naruto," Gilroy said with a polite nod "Master Sebastian will need a little more time to complete your weapons. Though I suppose, you could go by to check up on the progress if you're truly that anxious."

"Well, I do need to some time alone." Naruto admitted, shrugging as he thought about the weapons that Graham had insisted on paying for when Naruto mentioned having them forged "I've been hounded pretty much since I got to town, I'm not used to this much attention."

"As you wish," Gil responded, inclining his head slightly "but the Master would like you to join him and his daughter for breakfast."

"Of course," Naruto said, motioning for the boy to lead the way and then followed. Stepping into the hallway and then started down the curving stairs, Naruto considered his situation. He liked his hosts, Graham or Alana were considerate, polite, and downright nice really which was an utter oddity when compared to the usual bastards that had money and power.

Though Naruto admitted that sometimes even a bastard, or a bitch, could be change their ways especially when he was involved. Ero-sennin had half-jokingly (and half-jealously) called it the 'Naruto Effect', especially when in reference to Kazahana Kyouki the Daimyo of Yuki no Kuni and Haurna the Daimyo of Na no Kuni who had both become his biggest fans. Naruto for his part liked to think of it as his karma simply paying off, with interest considering the last visit he had paid each of the women.

Thinking of _**that**_ brought an intense blush, he might not have loved them like he did Sakura but he was only human after all. Sadly his pleasant memories were abruptly overshadowed by a hollow ache in his chest as he remembered that they, along with everyone else he cared for, were long since dead. He braced for the rush of depression that always came on the heels of the ache, but this time despite how much it hurt, he didn't experience a hint of depression.

He took it as a sign of progress that he could feel sad at the loss, but not crushingly so. He must have finally started coming to grips with it, which greatly relieved him, Naruto was not the sort that enjoyed brooding or wrestling with such depressing thoughts. Letting out a silent breath in relief he turned his mind away from his past considering his present, and eventual future, situation; but like always found it elusive.

He had no place to go, nobody to try and find, which meant that once his original clothes were finally mended and his weapons finished he had no place to go. Naruto toyed with the idea of tracking down Clare and Teresa, but to be honest he didn't know either of them well enough to go chasing after them. Damn it, without Konoha or a war he had no real direction or drive, he was left utterly rudderless.

Reaching the ground floor of the manor and heading for the dining room, Naruto wondered if Jiraiya had ever felt like this. He must have at some point, most likely right after Orochimaru left the village - Naruto stopped in his tracks, wondering if perhaps he should follow in the footsteps of Ero-sennin and travel the world. The more he thought about it, the more he started to like the idea of just roaming the world and meeting the people.

Yeah, that's what he would do. Naruto nodded in satisfaction at the decision, before adding hastily that he would _**not**_ start writing a new Icha Icha series.

* * *

Registering several intense yoki approaching, Teresa of the Faint smile closed her eyes and reached out to focus on them. Three strong presences, all single digits from the amount of Yoki she was detecting, and she knew all three. Opening her eyes, Teresa rose from her spot near the window and retrieved her sword, pausing long enough to cast a long glance at the still slumbering Clare before starting for the door of the abandoned home.

Stepping outside into the cool early morning, Teresa moved swiftly away from the home and instead to a clearing not too far away. If they had been in a town Teresa would have tried to suppress her own Yoki in the hopes of avoiding this confrontation, but they were in the wilds on the border between Mucha and Toulouse and it would have been pointless anyway. They were not as skilled in reading yoki as she was, but they would have noticed her no matter how much she suppressed it.

Shaking her thoughts off, Teresa centered herself and then focused on the the three yoki; they were approaching from three different directions and effectively had the area surrounded. Adjusting her grip on the handle of her claymore, Teresa closed her eyes considering how the battle would begin. Irene would come at her first and head on in an attempt to capture all of her attention, then Sophia would attack from the right in an attempt to blind-side her, and then Noel would finish up the attack from overhead in the natural blind spot of all fighters.

"To think you'd stand out in the open," Irene said as she emerged from the forest before Teresa, her soft voice unusually quieter in the early morning. "I've come for your head Teresa."

"Hello Irene," Teresa returned pleasantly, opening her eyes to look at the other warrior "it has been a while."

Irene in response grasped the hilt of her sword and instantly the surrounding area became covered in slash marks from invisible strikes reducing most of the objects in the area to little more than dust: all save for Teresa who stood perfectly still, with only her long hair swaying from the speed of the attack. Abruptly the attacks stopped, leaving the two warriors standing in silence and staring at each other.

"You have improved." Teresa admitted her lips quirking into a half-smile "But this is still not enough to take my head."

"As I thought." Irene admitted, her sharp features betraying nothing before her sword launched once more into its attack.

It was met abruptly in mid-slice by Teresa's own blade, revealing for a brief moment that their blades had connected. Surprise registered on the face of Irene as she stared at the two swords, and Teresa casually glanced from the blades to her former comrade, her tone teasing "It seems your blade is stuck Irene."

Irene's shock quickly morphed into anger and she launched into another attempt at the Quick-Sword, the blade moving at such speed that her own arm would appear invisible to anyone watching. It should have been impossible to keep up with the movement, let alone match it perfectly, but Teresa did just that. Each clash of the blades was preceded by the delayed sound of metal clashing against each other at unbelievably high speeds.

"To think that you could take my head, even with _**this**_ level of skill," Teresa said somewhat chidingly as she watched the growing look of fearful frustration on Irene's face "You have truly become delusional."

This only seemed to spur Irene on to ever greater speed, while Teresa turned a portion of her attention toward the Yoki rapidly descending from behind. Realizing that Noel was using a downward slash, in an attempt to bisect Teresa from head to toe, she abruptly broke off her clash with Irene while performing a spinning side-step at the last moment. As Noel struck the ground burying a portion of her blade into the ground Teresa continued her spinning motion backhanding Noel in the face sending the woman flying, followed by kicking the hilt of the now discarded sword which sent it spinning back into the air with a rain of dirt.

Completing her spin, Teresa ripped the spinning sword from the air and jerked it around, heaving it at a charging Sophia. The woman nimbly jumped aside avoiding the hurtled sword, but her charge was momentarily broken and Teresa lunged for Irene's chest, intent on at least disabling her most dangerous opponent. At least that was the plan until Teresa registered the descending blade aimed at her out stretched arm; shifting her weight Teresa avoided the strike while at the same time throwing herself into an airborne spin away from the new attacker.

Landing a moment later, Teresa experienced a jolt of genuine surprise at seeing an unfamiliar (and surprisingly young) warrior. More troubling was the fact that until this new warrior attacked Teresa had never noticed her presence, it was as if she had no Yoki - no, Teresa could register a faint echo of it. The yoki was suppressed beyond normal, and Teresa realized with a start the only time she had registered something similar was when she met Naruto.

"Forgive my rudeness," The young woman said, turning to face Teresa with a respectful gaze "It is an honor to finally meet you in person. My name is Priscilla and I am newly certified as Number 2 of the Organization."

"So I see." Teresa said, appraising the young woman for a moment "Let me ask you something, Priscilla right?, you could have attacked me at any moment. You could have wounded me or possibly killed me, so why did you wait and choose such an obvious attack?"

"It would have been cowardly otherwise," Priscilla countered calmly, her posture showing supreme confidence "You are the Former Number 1, if we are to take your head it should be a fair battle."

"Huh?" Teresa managed, eyebrows drawing together in confusion. Interestingly though, Irene was actually looking somewhat irritated with the younger warrior while Noel was staring at the situation in bemusement.

"Of course, there was something I wanted to ask you too." Priscilla admitted after a moment, her gaze never leaving Teresa's face.

"Oh?"

"Why have you resisted the justice of the Organization? Why have you taken the lives of humans, you broke our most iron-clad rule." Priscilla said, the hilt of her sword beginning to creek as her fist clenched. "Our job is to kill Yoma, we risk our lives fighting for humans and for us to kill one of them would be to destroy the very trust we've worked so hard to create!"

Teresa stared at the girl for a long moment, wondering what exactly she could say in response to the girl's questions, but more than aware that no matter what answer she gave Priscilla would be incapable of grasping it. The Organization did a very thorough job of brainwashing the new recruits so it would be years of service before the younger warrior even began to realize how the world truly worked and it was entirely possibly that Priscilla like many warriors would never come to that realization.

"I'll admit, you've certainly done a fine job of justifying their logic." Teresa said after a few more minutes of silent contemplation. Seeing the questioning gaze of Priscilla she allowed herself a smile "But the truth is, little girl, that real world is not so black and white."

Priscilla shot forward without warning, startling Teresa who reacted at the last moment. As their blades clashed together amid a hail of sparks, Teresa found herself staring into the intense gaze of the younger woman. With a low, throaty growl Teresa parried the blade, driving it to the ground before spinning, putting momentum into her counter swing.

She struck nothing as the younger woman jumped back and away from the attack, and no sooner had Priscilla landed than she shot forward once more.

Priscilla's blade was a blur of motion, thrusting and slashing at the ever defending Teresa, who was frowning as she struggled to get a read on how to handle her attacker. No yoki made it almost impossible to track Priscilla's attacks, and the young warrior was only getting faster. Teresa also couldn't win through sheer skill, each line of attack was clean almost bordering on artistic, and there was no opening Teresa could find.

Still Teresa couldn't help smiling as the fight continued since it was becoming more and more obvious that as powerful and skilled as Priscilla was she had no experience in a fight like this. The girl was fighting Teresa blind; instead she was slowly increasing her strength and speed trying to overwhelm Teresa. Taking to using her considerable speed, Teresa abandoned the current clash and instead began dodging each attack, darting back and forth moving at a speed that left after images.

Priscilla in response increased her power, chopping through each after image determinedly closing in on Teresa. Suddenly Priscilla disappeared and Teresa came to an abrupt halt, as Priscilla seemingly materialized from nowhere, forcing Teresa to parry a slash at her neck. The vibrations from the clash made her hands ache, and it only grew worse with each clash of their swords.

Before Teresa realized it, Priscilla forced her back a step and then another, steadily driving Teresa backwards. Realizing the situation Teresa did something unexpected, as their swords clashed once more Teresa muscled the sword aside and punched Priscilla in the mouth sending the warrior stumbling back in surprised shock. Teresa took the moment to launch her own assault, driving the momentarily dazed Priscilla back a dozen steps before the tide of their battle shifted to more neutral ground.

But the damage was done, Priscilla had grown so frustrated and lost in the battle that she was beginning to release yoki. It was over an instant, suddenly Priscilla's cheek was laid open with a cut and Teresa was smiling as she watched the dawning disbelief and horror on the young warriors face. The moment was shattered when Irene and Noel attacked from either side, forcing Teresa to dodge back.

As the dust settled from their attack, revealing the three women, Teresa confirmed that Sophia was still searching for her sword.

"Don't rush in so recklessly." Irene said, berating the still shaken looking Priscilla.

"Shall we continue?" Teresa asked politely, smiling at them in invitation as she lifted her sword in a beckoning motion. "I still have my head after all."

* * *

Demerin was a large town, but still not quite as large as Konoha, but as he meandered his way to the blacksmith forging his weapons Naruto decided it was still a nice place. The people were generally friendly and happy, though he did notice that the place had a problem with beggars skulking the streets. His attention was diverted from the city and its beggars by the sound of someone calling his name, well they were calling for 'Seraph' and that was what most people called him lately.

Mentally shaking his head to clear it of such thoughts he instead moved, however reluctantly, to the man standing there waving like a fool and calling him 'Seraph'.

"Ah, Seraph!" the older man said brightly from behind his fruit stall as the thin crowd parted for him "I'm glad I caught you today."

"Really?" Naruto said, sweeping his eyes out of habit over the displayed rows of fruit, wondering what the man wanted. Most people that stopped him asked for his 'help' or generally to just try and ingrain themselves with him.

"Yes, yes, I wanted to thank you for saving Merchant Graham and his daughter," the man said eagerly "he's a good man, so few of them in the world you know."

"Er, ok." Naruto said, blinking as he looked up at the man curiously. By now he was well aware of the fact that Graham and his daughter were well loved by the towns people, as a matter of fact the only people that had so far bothered thanking him for saving the Viscounts nephew had been the knights. This of course left Naruto still wondering why the man was bothering to thank him in such a public way. "It was no big deal really."

"Don't be so modest!" The man insisted, leaning forward slightly "Without him, well, let's just say that we would have more poor than we already do."

"Er...ok." Naruto said nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Well anyway, I'm glad I could help. I'm sorta on an errand, so I'll just-"

"Please," the man said quickly gesturing at his cart "take something as a token of my family's thanks."

"Um, you don't have to-" Naruto started to protest and then seeing the man's gaze sighed, turning his attention back to the cart of fruit. After a moment he selected a large, shiny red apple and looked up with a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." The merchant said happily as Naruto took a bite of the apple and turned to continue on his way. It wasn't until he was halfway down the street that Naruto realized that the man had used him and his popularity to increase his business, which irked Naruto, but he let it go as he didn't want to get more involved than he already was. Sighing Naruto continued on his way, munching on his apple as he went.

To be honest he had only been using the excuse of seeing Sebastian about his weapons as an excuse to get out on his own, but now he was sort of hoping the man at least had a few weapons done. The kunai and shuriken most likely since they were not complicated weapons, but there was no telling since Graham insisted that Sebastian was not only the best blacksmith around, but successful enough that he had two experienced apprentice and three beginning apprentices.

Of course the Viscount could have a bunch of orders in for weapons, but Naruto thought that would be highly unlikely. Plus it wasn't likely that some other noble from a neighboring town would have placed an order, Naruto was still uncertain about a lot of things but he knew that outside of the Organization there seemed to be no real source of authority. At best, it seemed that the larger villages would strike 'alliances' with smaller ones.

Musing thoughtfully he finished his apple and discarded it in a pile of trash while cutting through a narrow alley and turning right headed up the street toward an unremarkable two story building of white stone and seasoned timber. The only oddities he could see were the three chimneys on its peaked roof and the narrow, shuttered windows that few other buildings had. Reaching the building he stepped through the already open doorway being instantly engulfed in broiling air that led to near instant sweating.

He paused in the entrance, allowing his eyes to adjust to the twin glows of the dim metal lantern overhead and the almost hellish orange glow from the partially hidden backroom where the forges resided. Once he could see well enough, he scanned the interior swiftly noting the racks with spears and other strange weapons on display as well as the benches running along the far side of the building displaying broad-twin edged swords, and he couldn't miss the iron stands proudly displaying suits of heavy armor.

Nodding faintly in satisfaction that everything was fine he moved forward, passing beneath wooden support beams that branched toward each other creating an arch which led to an equally curved wooden counter. Letting his eyes move from the counter he glanced at the back wall, where a series of recessed shelves waited, each burdened with bundled items. Reaching the counter, he leaned a hand against it, glancing into the partially hidden back room and cried out. "Hey, anybody here?"

"Welcome!" A deep voice called from the back in response, and a moment later a soot covered burly man dressed in a leather apron emerged. "Oh! It's you Seraph. I didn't expect to see you so soon."

"Yeah, I was getting bored." Naruto admitted, smiling "Oh, and it's just Naruto, remember?"

"Sorry, but it's not every day we get a hero in this shop." Sebastian said his thick beard twitching as he laughed, while running a massive hand through is thick, graying black hair. "I take it your here to see about your weapons?"

"Pretty much," Naruto admitted, leaning against the counter. "I mean, I know that you can't have everything finished already-"

"Well, actually we do." Sebastian interrupted sounding far too self-satisfied. After a moment he paused adding absently "Well except for those strange folding weapons. But everything else was easy enough to make, I will admit that your other weapons were unusual but your drawings were extremely helpful."

"Hehe, thank my teacher." Naruto interrupted, watching as the man moved to the receded shelves to retrieve several wrapped items "He was both a writer and an artist so he insisted I follow in his footsteps. Not that I had much else to do, there's only so much you can do when your wandering the countryside training you know?"

"I remember those apprentice days." The larger man said good-naturedly as he placed the objects on the counter and began undoing the bindings for Naruto's inspection. The kunai and shuriken seemed to call to him, picking them up Naruto was pleased to note that the balance felt perfect for each. Setting them down he noticed a few long and thin objects that he recognized as kunai daggers, and he couldn't help but grin. Seeing the grin Sebastian began redoing the three bundles "We've forged a hundred of each, fifty per bundle."

"Awesome." Naruto said, scratching his cheek slightly "So I guess that's that, I'll just have to come back-"

"Now just hold on there. When Graham brought me your designs he mentioned that you didn't have a sword and asked that I find one to present to you." Sebastian explained with a shrug "I wasn't sure which one I should give you, but then I remembered that there was one blade that I could not bring myself to sell. It was one I forged on the behalf of an old friend, who passed on months ago at the hands of a yoma and it's just been sitting in the back."

"But, I mean, you don't have to give me that." Naruto protested since he honestly had no real need for a sword, especially if it had belonged to an old friend of Sebastian's.

"Nonsense." Sebastian said firmly, his good-nature grin gone completely. "That sword is meant to kill Yoma and it's a waste to leave it sitting the back of a smithy because I'm not about to sell that blade to some bastard that won't understand its true value. So you take this blade, put it too good use and I will hear no more of it."

"Gah, fine!" Naruto said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. He was getting tired of people forcing things on him when he really didn't need or want them, but he also couldn't just flat out refuse them. It wasn't like when he had been traveling with Jiraiya, Naruto could afford to refuse then because had Konoha to fall back on, but now he couldn't risk burning any bridges.

"Good." Sebastian said his countenance brightening considerably as he turned and cupping his mouth shouted at the back room "Get in here with the Seraph's sword you shiftless bastards!"

"No need to shout old man." A younger man said as he emerged from the back, carrying a sword in a plain black scabbard.

"My finest work ever!" Sebastian boomed proudly, taking the weapon and shooting the cockily smiling man a glare before turning to face Naruto. "The metal came from a claymore blade that my friend found discarded in the forest several years back."

That said he presented the hardened scabbard to Naruto who took it and grasping the leather strapped hilt of the sword pulled it free to reveal a slender, elegant double-edged blade with a curving metal cross-guard and a three pronged pommel. The hair of the back of Naruto's neck stood on end as he held the blade and tilted the point up, the weight felt perfect in his hand, revealing that it was truly a piece of art as much as it was a weapon.

Naruto was not and never would be a 'proper' swords man like Zabuza or any of the others he knew, he preferred close combat but he was still awed. It had an odd contrast of being both beautiful and vicious, but it was one he could appreciate considering the women he had known and cared for. But it was also stirring half forgotten memories of his first real mission: when he had refused to back down from Zabuza and thus took his first step on the path of being a ninja and of a tragic boy who taught him the true meaning of strength.

"It's perfect." Naruto murmured, half-lost in his memories. Sliding the blade back into the scabbard he looked at Sebastian giving him a broad grin, the one that had made more than one person feel ten feet tall and invincible. "Thanks a lot."

* * *

Things had spun horribly, irrevocably, impossibly out of control.

It had been bad enough to discover that Teresa was more than capable of defeating them all without releasing an ounce of her own Yoki, a feat that should have been impossible even for such an acclaimed warrior. It had only grown worse as Irene lay helpless in a pool of her own blood as the very sudden and horrible realization that she'd never been Teresa's 'rival' hit, highlighted by the terrified sobs of a beaten and emotionally unstable Priscilla.

All of that should have been enough, more than enough, but things grew worse as Teresa spared the cowering Priscilla and departed tossing over her shoulder careless words that at once were both a challenge and statement of fact 'Come after me if you wish, but I will cut you down every time.'. Those words had finally plunged a bad situation spiraling downward into the horror that was being unleashed now.

Because Priscilla was powerful, and she would only grow stronger in time, but she was also a twelve year old traumatized girl. She was not stable, mentally or emotionally, and this confrontation with Teresa had pushed the young warrior to her breaking point. In an explosion of Yoki Priscilla's features became a nightmarish mockery of humanity: veins bulged across her face, and golden eyes blaze with a feral light.

Whatever words Irene might have shouted at the girl in warning where lost to the wind and it wouldn't have mattered because Priscilla was already gone in pursuit of Teresa. Now minutes later the three remaining warriors were finally able to get back to their feet and not to far in the distance they could feel the pulses of Priscilla's Yoki. Irene grimaced, hefting her blade and glancing at her two pale and somewhat shaky comrades. "We need to go after her. In her condition she'll lose complete control."

"What do you expect we can do?" Noel asked somewhat hoarsely, hunched over slightly "Even working together we couldn't touch Teresa, and Priscilla was by far stronger than any of us. If she has surpassed her limits-"

"She hasn't." Irene said sheathing her sword "Not yet at least, but she's losing her mind already, we have to move now."

The two others nodded in obviously reluctant agreement, as they set out after their former comrade.

"What are we going to do?" Sophia asked after a moment, her face a strange pale-ash color "This amount of yoki, I've never felt anything like it."

"We still have a chance of subduing her before she crosses the threshold," Irene answered, weighing the precarious situation they were facing "However, the window for that is closing. Her fear started this, but her anger will only continue it, and as massive as her Yoki is it still won't be enough against Teresa. It will be a vicious cycle that will led to the monster inside taking control of her."

Further discussion was cut short as the forest was filled with the sound of a child's voice shouting: "Teresa!"

The shout was followed by a sudden tidal wave of Yoki washing over them, of such strength and magnitude that it was nearly smothering. The more primal part of Irene howled that they should flee from the source, but she ignored it in favor of focusing on what needed to be done. "Sophia, circle around and try to get her from the side, Noel try from overhead. Remember, Priscilla still hasn't awakened yet so we can still save her from that fate."

"Right!" The two shouted in unison before departing for their tasks; Noel leapt into the tree branches over head climbing high into the foliage, while Sophia broke off and began moving in a looping arc away. Leaving Irene to charge straight ahead toward the sound of clashing weapons and overbearing yoki- the fact that the sound of clashing metal was hurting her ears and that she could see flashes of combat just ahead made the primal side all the more insistent that she flee.

A moment later she reached the edge of the fighting, in the background stood a now collapsed house and a bloody young girl wailing nearby the ruins. Grimacing Irene turned her attention to the two combatants - Teresa had positioned herself between the trembling wounded girl and the now hulking form of Priscilla. What truly bothered Irene however was the fact that the right side of Teresa's face was coated with blood from a wound on her forehead.

"You should stop now," Teresa announced, calm gaze never wavering from her enemy "You're new at this and if you release even more yoki you won't be able to change back. Remember your training, at ten percent our eyes change, at thirty our face, at fifty our bodies and if we go over eighty percent there is no going back."

"Kill, kill, I'll kill...you..."

"Hmph," Teresa said taking a step away from the girl, obviously trying to move the fight away from the child, while lifting her sword "you're already losing your mind."

"SHUT UP!" Priscilla shouted, charging an eerily calm Teresa.

Their blades clashed with a resounding noise, the impact swirling the air, but more in response to this clash a new yoki flared into existence. Priscilla was forced back from the impact of their blades, and her shoulder plate broke apart as an angry, purple wound slashed through her skin. Irene's body trembled at the new surge of yoki, staring in muted awe at the only sign that Teresa was using any of her own Yoki.

Ten percent, Irene thought stupidly, staring at the two monsters before her. Just ten percent and Teresa could face something like this on equal footing.

She snapped out of it a moment later when Noel emerged from the forest behind Priscilla in a jump, sword swept around for a swing aimed at the back of her targets head. Noel was suddenly knocked from the air, the blade of a claymore protruding from her chest. A claymore blade that belonged to Priscilla, whose arm had suddenly extended and flowed around and up to strike Noel from behind in mid-air.

"Bitch!" Sophia shrieked, blurring from her own cover, her blade whistling through the air from the force of her incoming blow. Priscilla reacted by deflecting the incoming blade with a Noel's now discarded blade, but in the process was sent flying into the forest.

"Damn it!" Irene swore in self-annoyance and moved not toward Sophia who was focusing on the downed Noel, or the annoyed looking Teresa, but instead the girl. Snatching her up, Irene shot off as far as she dared from the battle field, noting that for all the blood it was mostly superficial. Probably from when the house had collapsed in Priscilla's initial attack, it was a miracle that Teresa had managed to keep the girl from any serious injuries in that situation.

Coming to an abrupt halt, Irene released the girl who fell to the ground in a heap. "Get as far from here as you can!"

"I'm not leaving Teresa!" The girl protested heatedly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she struggled back to her feet.

"Then hide!" Irene snapped in mounting irritation, Priscilla's Yoki was growing larger by the second and moving toward the other two. "We can't fight this thing if we have to protect you at the same time. So either run or hide!"

Not waiting for a response Irene took off back to the looming battle, trying desperately to gage what was going on. Her yoki sensing abilities were not as refined as Teresa's, but they were good enough that she could get a general read on a situation. At the moment Sophia and Teresa seemed to be waiting on something, Priscilla no doubt, and that gave Irene some hope that she could make it back in time for them to figure out a battle strategy.

The hope soon turned to ash in her mouth as both Irene and Priscilla reached the battlefield at the same time, worse the younger warriors yoki had finally flared beyond her limits. Muscles surged and bulged, tearing through the uniform accompanied by a scream of agony, growing oddly distorted as her teeth grew and mouth tore itself open. Priscilla collapsed to her knees, clawed hands flexing as they released the Claymore she had been clutching.

"It's too late," Irene whispered in shocked sadness, moving to stand beside the two other warriors in a silent confirmation of the current battlefield truce. "We need to strike now before the Yoma within breaks free completely."

"Papa..." Priscilla moaned, clutching her distorted head tightly with a hand, crying as her voice took on a manic tone "Give back my papa. He was so kind to me. I loved him so much…and yet before my very eyes he ate the guts of my mama, my brother and my sister! That's why I killed him…while he was eating my big sister I crept up behind him and hacked off his head!"

"I will make it swift." Teresa said in a shockingly calm tone, stepping toward the monster, hefting her sword with two hands for the killing blow. The blow was never delivered however, instead Teresa was forced to dodge back as Priscilla's free hand snatched up her discarded sword and the awakening warrior made a wild lunge. Howling the monster continued her assault, but Teresa had not only become stronger after releasing her yoki but she had become faster as well.

Teresa flowed around every strike as easily as water around a rock, gold eyes glinting as she looked for an opening to counter.

"Don't." Irene hissed at Sophia who had taken a step toward the two, and then noting the furious look from the other woman Irene growled "We'd only get in her way right now. She can still end this before it gets any worse if she can get a clear opening soon."

As if Irene's words had been prophetic, Teresa got her opening: Jumping to avoid a slash at her legs Teresa brought her claymore down severing Priscilla's right arm, only for the detached arm to whip around as blood congealed into thick muscle catching Teresa in mid-air, sending her crashing into a tree. The former Number 1 slumped to the ground, clearly dazed from the blow and the impact.

Faster than should have been possible, even for an awakening warrior, Priscilla crossed the distance and was sweeping her sword from overhead in a devastating arc. Irene however, managed to intercede in time to use her Quick-Sword to deflect the blow, but even using twenty percent of her yoki Irene still came dangerously close to losing her arm. Thankfully Sophia arrived in the next second, and releasing her own yoki delivered her own attack against Priscilla and in the process showed just how she had earned her nickname.

Rather than use the edge of her blade, Sophia struck with the flat of it the impact of which forced Priscilla back a half-step. But Sophia was not finished; she was using her momentum to strike Priscilla over and over again with the flat of her blade before with one finally massive strike Sophia knocked the creature off its feet sending it skyrocketing into the air before it crashed back down across the clearing with a plumb of dust and debris.

"Ugh," Sophia grunted, dropping to a knee one a bloody arm hanging limply at her side "Even using thirty percent, she still managed to hurt me."

"If she were fully transformed we would both be dead," Irene muttered, urging her healing tissue to mend faster as Teresa regained her feet "she's like a mad animal right now. Reacting poorly off of instinct, we have to finish this now before she-"

But the words died in Irene's throat as the maddened creature exploded up from the crater and charged back toward them, the claymore it had been wielding now long since discarded. As the three braced for the charging monster however, it unexpectedly froze before throwing her head back and roared. Priscilla's surging yoki exploding outward becoming visible as a swirling mass of dark purple energy splintering and cracking trees, the ground tore itself free as the wind howled around the pillar of dark violet yoki that spiraled up into the sky overhead.

The atmosphere was electric, prickling the short hairs on the back of her neck and Irene instinctively took several steps away from the swirling dark-purple yoki. The yoki was flaring higher and darker with every passing second, as if it had no boundaries or limits, and Irene knew without words that something terrible was growing within the rapidly condensing yoki. Something that could no longer be confined by the mere flesh and bone of a human, something of pure evil that should not be walking this world.

Irene could only imagine that it was a demon crawling its way out of hell: with each throb of yoki the power in the air grew heavier and more overwhelming. Then abruptly, without a sound or sign, the raging yoki evaporated into nothingness leaving behind only smoke and a hushed silence pregnant with terrible knowledge.

This was impossible.

Irene had never experienced such yoki, in all of her years and having faced numerous Awakened Beings, nothing had ever generated this much yoki. Just being in its presence was like having talons sinking into her chest, rending her heart to pieces. Something terrible and impossible had been born, something that made her experience fear for the first time since being a trainee.

"So," A soft voice, murmured from within the cloud of lingering dust. "So that was it? All this time there was no reason to hold back. It feels incredible..."

"Nonononononono..." Sophia muttered over and over, sword trembling as she continued retreating from the monster.

"Do not shrink from this beast." Teresa suddenly snapped, stepping forward, her voice at once full of authority. "No matter how powerful this monster is, you are the Number 4 of the Organization, standing with the Number 2 and with myself."

"R-right," Sophia managed shakily, stopping her retreat and instead moving to join rank with Irene.

A moment later the smoke finally cleared revealing the impossibly tall and gaunt form of a fully transformed Priscilla. She had retained a human shape, but her body was encased with an indigo carapace, her hair had remained though it had faded to a dark white, while curving horn now protruded from her forehead, and oddly enough her back had sprouted a pair of large butterfly wings.

"Any suggestions?" Irene asked roughly, trying to stop her own hands from shaking.

"Mm." Priscilla said, still lost in her own world her half-lidded eyes staring at her now taloned hands. "I'm hungry for entrails."

"Just one." Teresa answered, sounding almost bland before her already terrifying yoki exploded past the ten percent mark, climbing to higher levels. Swearing even as she understood the desperate answer, Irene began releasing the rest of her own yoki pushing toward it her limit, and not far behind her was Sophia.

* * *

Naruto was not a sensor specialist, this wasn't to say that he couldn't detect charka but he was no better or worse than the average ninja at it. For example, Naruto could not identify someone by their chakra nor could he pinpoint their exact location. Of course, this changed the instant he entered Sage Mode or his Jinchūriki Form as when he was using either source of chakra he could run circles around even the best of sensor specialists.

If he happened to be using both his Sage Mode and Kurama's chakra at the same time, he was omniscience or near enough to it.

That was why when a sudden flare of chakra shot across his senses, Naruto knew it had to be insanely powerful. Head snapping around in mid-step, he jumped from the street in front of the temple he had been walking past and came to a stop on the tip of the steeple. His arrival was followed by a suddenly intense breeze that whipped the edges of his jacket around him, and Naruto frowned before closing his eyes while adopting a basic chakra molding position.

His breathing calmed and he slowly stilled his mind, opening his senses to the world allowing nature to flow into him and then back out. Immersing himself in the flow of nature, he stretched out towards the chakra and discovered it was not only larger than he first thought but also similar in nature to that of Shukaku. More troubling was the fact that the sheer amount rivaled what Kirābī and Gyūki had possessed.

Could it be one of the other Bijū?

Pulling more nature chakra into him, sharpening his sense even more Naruto began to truly focus and discovered that there were three sources of chakra smothered in the flare of chakra. Shocked he began to divide the four charka signatures into their own distinct presences, but three abruptly disappeared, leaving only the original source of chakra. Shocked at the abrupt disappearances, Naruto almost lost his control over his nature chakra but rallied to keep that from happening.

With a steadying breath he turned his attention toward studying the remaining chakra, which was now starting to move north, he decided that for all of its power it was not a Bijū. After more consideration he decided that the charka was underlying similar to that of what he had experienced within Teresa. Pulling his attention away from the moving chakra he swept his focus in a broader sweep but found nothing of the other three.

Letting his senses slowly dim, slowly releasing his connection to nature, Naruto decided he had just caught the tail end of a fight between a group of Claymores and a Voracious Eater. Idly Naruto wondered if Teresa had been involved, but knew the chances of that being the case were outrageous. Body finally relaxing as the last of the nature chakra escaped him Naruto slowly opened his eyes, releasing one last breath to clear his body of any lingering nature chakra or tension.

Staring out at the overcast sky and rugged landscape, Naruto wondered if he should go look into the situation in person. It wasn't like he had anything else to do once Sebastian finished the few remaining items Naruto had on order, but the fight was already over. His conscious gnashed its teeth at the fact that he had been too late to help the warriors, but he had already started to learn that hard lesson that sometimes he couldn't save people.

Abruptly he blinked as it dawned on him where exactly he was standing, and he reluctantly turned his gaze down to the street, unable to stop his wince as he saw the large crowd staring up at him.

"Damn it!"


	7. Extra Scene 2: Interlude

:  
:

Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Extra Scene 2: Interlude**  
by Geor-sama

* * *

It took a lot to unnerve Irene, so much so that it became a very rare experience for her. Normally she was the one that unnerved people, both civilians and her fellow warriors: she spoke even less than Teresa, and had a way of standing so perfectly still that she would pass as a statue. But the thing that unnerved others the most was her stare; she never blinked and seemingly noticed even the tiniest of actions, creating the distinct impression that she was capable of studying their inner-most secrets.

Yet for all of these things and despite all of the people she unnerved on a regular basis, even she had one thing that could affect her: standing before the Elders of the Organization in their dim meeting hall. There was just something about them that set her teeth on edge and sent chills crawling up her back, some factor that escaped her intense notice, but that she was still acutely aware of. The one time she had tried to describe the sensation to Teresa – all Irene had been able to say was that it was like 'staring at something wholly different than either a human or an Awakened Being'.

Yet this time something was added to the usual unease that came with facing the Elders, the fact that she was doing so at night, which as far as she knew they had never done before. Still Irene refused to reveal just how much the Elders unnerved her; she had only ever shared that with Teresa. Keeping her face clear of expression and eyes focused on Rimuto, she waited for the man to begin the debriefing so she could continue her recuperation in private. But it seemed that the man had no intention of speaking anytime soon, interested more in simply staring at her and listening to the utter silence that filled the stone chamber.

"Let us begin." One of the other Elders said at last, his voice soft and raspy. Irene didn't respond, not until Rimuto gave a faint nod - technically she should have started when the first man spoke but she had always waited for his permission. It somehow seemed safer that way.

"As ordered, we began pursuit of the Renegade but our efforts were hampered by an unprecedented surge of Yoki with no clearly defined source. Once the potent Yoki had dissipated enough we were able to pick up her trail. The Renegade had taken up residence in an abandoned home on the border of Mucha and Toulouse, along with a young girl no older than ten."

"When we arrived we found the Renegade waiting for us a safe distance from the home: I approached from the front, with Number 4 and Number 5 providing support from the sides once I had engaged her in combat. Number 2 engaged shortly after it became apparent that the three of us were no match for our target. In doing so the battle was shifted in our favour, however, the brief respite we received was soon lost as the Renegade began to outclass even Number 2."

"She was that powerful?" one of the elders asked, his tone slightly incredulous.

"It should be no surprise." Irene said, refusing to show even the tiniest hint of annoyance from being interrupted. "Teresa of the Faint Smile was the Number 1 of the Organization for at least two Generations."

"Duly noted." Rimuto said dispassionately "Please continue."

"Once it became clear that even Number 2 was outclassed, it was deemed that all four of us would engage her while using ten to thirty percent of our Yoki." Irene paused, letting it sink in before adding "The Renegade overcame us without a hint of using her own Yoki, but instead of killing us or even killing Number 2 who could have one day surpassed the target, she spared our lives."

"That is unusual." One elder muttered, as the others shared glances.

All save Rimuto who continued to stare at her. "What prompted the Awakening of Priscilla?"

"The fact that: while we acknowledged her combat potential, we ignored her emotional immaturity." Irene answered curtly. "Emotionally she was completely incapable of dealing with the fear that consumed her upon facing an opponent stronger than her. This fear led to anger, which ignited an irrational hatred, blinding her to the fact that she was not experienced enough to safely push her Yoki to the limit."

"What attempts did you make to try and subdue her?"

"After we regained the ability to move, we set out in pursuit of Number 2 but she had already engaged the Renegade. Unfortunately Number 4 was lost in our initial attempt at subduing Number 2, and the Renegade attempted to talk her down after this. Meanwhile I was forced to intervene and save the young girl traveling with the target, leaving Number 5 and the Renegade to try and subdue Number 2."

"So Teresa made no attempt at escaping?" One of the Elders asked, sounding confused.

"Correct. Upon my return it was soon decided that Number 2 had progressed to the point that it would be best for three of us to join into a temporary alliance. Myself and Number 5 acted as backup as the Renegade took the lead in confronting the awakened Number 2, the conflict ended soon after that as the Renegade managed to drive Priscilla off though not without the loss of Number 5."

"What occurred after that?"

"The Renegade," Irene started, and then stopped as a strong sense of loss washed over her. She fought down the emotion – she had viewed Teresa as her rival yes, but Irene had also respected Teresa more than she had anyone else – and continued her report. "The Renegade had pushed her own Yoki beyond her limits, due to her failed attempt at saving the life of Number 5, and in her last moments of humanity asked that I take her head before she transformed."

The Elders did not respond to that either verbally or physically, they simply sat there in silence.

"I fulfilled Teresa's request, and buried both her and Sophia." Irene added.

"Hm." Rimuto said studying her with far more intensity than he normally displayed. Lacing fingers together he rested them against his chin before speaking "It is a sad loss, but unavoidable all things considered. Thank you for performing this difficult task Irene."

"But now we're greatly weakened." One of the other Elders said.

"We have options," another added "though a few trainees may have to be promoted prematurely."

"We can fill the higher ranks easily enough." Rimuto stated mildly, interrupting the conversation without any real effort "Irene, for the foreseeable future, we ask that you assume the Rank and responsibilities of being the Organization's Number 1."

"Understood." Irene said flatly, partially annoyed that she had gained the new rank without winning it from Teresa, even as she registered the implied dismissal. Turning sharply on her heel, Irene strode out of the hall.

* * *

"Hmmm," Madara mused, running his faintly glowing hand along the faint scar that marred the left arm of Teresa, more out of idle curiosity than true worry. As far as he knew these warriors were capable of rapid healing in much the same fashion as Uzumaki Naruto, so there was no apparent reason that even after Teresa had healed the injury that there should be any sort of scar. After a few more minutes of allowing the _'Shōsen Jutsu'_ to run he removed his hand satisfied that it was nothing more than an freak occurrence, and turned to his other guest who was currently occupying the second bed in the make-shift recovery room.

Madara paused for a moment studying the sickly-pale second warrior, it was hard to believe that her nickname was 'Muscular' since in no way did she seem to fit that description. Sophia was a lithe delicate looking young woman, with chin-length pale blond hair, more like the trophy wife of some rich bastard than a hardened warrior. Shaking his thoughts off after a moment, Madara reached out and moved the sheet covering her body revealing her modest breasts and a tight-skinned angry red wound extending over the sternum from shoulder to hip.

Madara was far from accomplished in medical ninjutsu, but even he knew that the wound would have been fatal if he had not intervened. Reaching out as he reactivated the '_Shōsen Jutsu', _running his hand along the wound, he made a silent note that she would still most likely die from the wound. Normally he might have left her to die, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Teresa had nearly sacrificed her own arm to try and save the woman.

Besides, it would be a waste of a perfectly good warrior.

Making a second pass he let the technique fade before covering her once more with a sigh, hopeful that it would at least prevent the wound from escalating further while her body tried to heal itself. The whole situation did highlight the fact that he had been far too reliant on mercenary doctors like Shinnō or Yomi in the past, now though he had only his own 'passing knowledge' in the medical area and that would limit him later. Once he took over the Organization there was no way he could leave a madman like Dae in charge of the research, even Orochimaru would have balked at the man's barbaric methods.

This meant he needed to increase his own knowledge in that area, possibly by raiding the ruins of Kirigakure even if the odds were that after so long whatever knowledge it had held were lost. Or as an alternative to that, Madara could gamble on the outside chance that the knowledge had not been entirely lost, since with the fall of Kirigakure the remaining ninja would have gone underground passing on their techniques in the 'Clan' system that had been prevalent before the Uchiha and Senju founded Konoha.

Hmm, that was something worth considering, and he could find their current descendants with relatively little effort though it would mean dealing with a great many charlatans.

Shelving his thoughts on the matter, at least for the moment, Madara turned his focus back to Sophia and Teresa. Before he left them alone for the night and pursued other goals he would need to check to ensure that his false memories were firmly in place. Of course he wasn't entirely satisfied with his own justifications for altering their memories, it seemed to border on his old methods of forcing peace, but there were no other alternatives in achieving his goal.

Letting out a breath Madara stretched his hands out, placing one on each on their heads and closed his eyes slowly allowing his chakra merge with theirs, activating the only Yamanaka Clan technique he had ever bothered to acquire. '_Nengemishou no Jutsu'_ was quite possibly the most closely guarded Clan Technique the Yamanaka had and for good reason, since the technique made the Yamanaka as great a 'security threat' to Konoha as the Uchiha. The only reason the Yamanaka had not been exterminated as the Uchiha had was the fact that Senju Tobirama had married Yamanaka Inochi.

Once the technique merged, forging the bridge between their minds, he plunged his mind forward to touch theirs. At first all he experienced were images flicking by at extremely high speeds, like using a time-space technique for an extended length of time. Yet despite the mind-numbing speed, he still caught glimpses of their memories - a solitary cell robbed of any light, its air foul and cold...She was young and still in pain, unable to stop her helpless horrified tears as one of the older trainees pinned her down with knees on either side of her head... Hearing the words "I'm sorry," and watching in muted shock as her friend slit her own throat... a thin, frail young girl with long brown hair and green eyes hugging her tightly "Clare."... A half-forgotten handler known as 'Helmuth'... Watching Helmuth and Rimuto talking about a trainee...

Abruptly things shifted and came into crisp focus as the most recent memory floated to the surface: _Irene was the first to move exploding forward with a swirling cloud of dust trailing her wake, claymore set for a decapitating blow. In response the One-Horned Monster reacted at the last moment dodging back to avoid the blow, one of her uncommonly long arms shooting forward in an attempt to seize her, but this in turn was deflected by Irene's sword. However, the momentum from the blow sent Irene sailing back while defending against Priscilla's lance like fingers now chasing after her._

_With a growl and surge of righteous fury Sophia appeared in between the two, muscles bulging as she brought her blade down on the outstretched arm severing it at the elbow. Satisfaction surged through her before she shifted her weight to continue her assault on Priscilla's torso, only to have Priscilla calmly catch the blade – abruptly something slammed into her from the side just as she registered pain at her collar bone. _

_Teresa grimaced as her arm was nearly taken, but the pain meant very little at the moment, the important thing was that Sophia had avoided death. Landing, she glowered at the towering purple monster who stared back with what could be termed mild interest at best. Adjusting the grip on her sword, Teresa calmed her mind ensuring that her Yoki did not go past her self-imposed limit of fifty percent. "It is over."_

_"Oh?" Priscilla tilted her head, her absent curiosity turning to disgust. "You actually think you can kill me?"_

_"Yes." Teresa said before disappearing from view only to instantly reappear before the unprepared monster, blade flashing out in a series of slashes that tore into the torso and legs of the Awakened Being. Staggered and heavily wounded, Priscilla reeled back from the assault, barely managing to avoid a backhanded diagonal slash upwards and thus escaping the fatal blow. In response to the assault thousands of tendrils shot out of the vicious wounds covering her body, distracting Teresa long enough for Priscilla to scramble into the sky, wings beating awkwardly in the air as she frantically fled. _

Madara pulled his consciousness free from the flow of memories, allowing his chakra to slowly break its connection from their systems. The technique finished, he stretched his arms, trying to work the kinks in his shoulders out before lowering them and sighing. It appeared that they both not only remembered him as Helmuth, but accepted his version of the battle against Priscilla.

Most likely because it was extremely close to what had actually happened. Creating a false memory was akin to telling a lie; the simpler and closer it was to the truth, the more willing people were to believe it.

With one last glance at both women, he left the makeshift recovery room and set off down the dim hallway to a narrow staircase. He emerged a few minutes later on the top floor of the eight story building and made his way to the lone door at the far end of the floor. Coming to a stop before the rather unspectacular looking door, Madara lifted a hand his forefinger glowing with chakra as he applied it to the wood: in response a seal revealed itself, prompting him to trace the pattern.

The instant he finished a ripple spread through the semi-transparent barrier of chakra that covered the door frame before disappearing, allowing him access. The protective barrier was unnecessary considering that he had no need for such security, but as with most of what Madara did it was a habit gained through an exceedingly long lifetime. Stepping through the doorway he entered his private domain made up of a series of high-ceiling rooms all connected by short-hallways.

He paused just long enough to close the door before moving to the main room where a pair of cracked, burgundy-leather chairs sat before a shattered window that overlooked the crumbling ruins and beyond them the sea that surrounded the island. Settling into a chair, becoming sadly aware of the numerous aches that filled his muscles, he sighed before letting the sound of a grandfather clock and the scent of the sea sooth his mind.

Soon he would have to start making further preparations for his plans, but for now he could enjoy this all but forgotten island. Unbidden his eyes shifted from the sea and toward the distant horizon where another island sat, hidden from view and waiting for him. He would bring that place peace, and then once he had united the people and eradicated the Yoma, Madara would turn his attention outward to the rest of the world once more.

But that was the future.

For now he would use this place, the original research grounds for the Organization, to bring peace to this tiny corner of the world.

* * *

Rimuto gave the door a single sharp knock before entering without further warning.

The chamber was made up of shadowy walls that were lined with shelves of large glass jars, each containing a sickly white liquid in which all manner of revolting things floated: moving deeper into the room revealed dozens of empty cages and a morbid display of both human and Yoma skeletons. Past them, tucked in a dark recess where only the vaguest of shapes could be made out in the oppressive gloom, were bodies stripped of their skin and suspended in the air by some unseen means.

Rimuto paused for a brief moment, watching the faint swaying of shadows with a detached interest before continuing on his way. He found the object of his search in the next chamber, hunched over the restrained body of what had at one point been a child. Now it was a twisted abomination, its limbs bordering on inhuman and its features distorted into a blend of human and bestial.

"It's fascinating," Dae said after a moment, turning to place a misshapen organ among a small pile of similar objects and bloody instruments on a nearby table. Picking up a bloody scalpel, the disfigured man turned back to the creature struggling against its restraints on the exam table, "I have removed its lungs, liver, kidneys and even most of its intestines and yet it still lives. It regenerates at an accelerated rate much greater than previous test subjects, making it perfect for use in the next generation of Project Chimera."

There was a reason why, after all, the other Elders referred to Dae's domain as a labyrinth of horror.

"Dae." Rimuto said, uninterested in the man's ramblings.

"Fine." Dae sighed, looking up from the creature, setting his instrument aside for a moment while doing nothing to mask his annoyance from the intrusion. "I take it that your presence means that you've finally found a suitable candidate."

"Exactly." Rimuto said in confirmation, lips compressing into a thin line "The young girl in question is a year older than usual, but due to a set of unique circumstances she intentionally sought out one of our representatives and demanded that we make her into a warrior."

"Oh?" Dae asked amused "That _is_ unusual. Do you really believe her to be the best choice for the Project?"

"No." Rimuto answered dryly "The girl traveled alongside Teresa, formed an intense bond with her and was present for her death. Afterward she demanded that Irene tell her what happened and from what we gather she cares about nothing else but getting revenge against the creature that caused Teresa's death."

"She is a reasonable candidate," Dae admitted after a moment, his interest clearly piqued "It will be interesting to see how the results differ between the two subjects. How will it affect her physical maturity compared to the previous subject, will the quality of her Yoki be stronger or weaker? Stability will be another factor and would there be a physical mutation like the subjects of Project Alseid-"

"Dae."

"As I said, she is a reasonable candidate considering that Project Typhon runs a high risk of creating an unstable being, since we will be using a new formula." Dae paused, but it was obvious to both that he was only offering lip service to the risks.

"Proceed with the project." Rimuto said curtly, turning to leave.

"You do realize, don't you," Dae said stopping him short, his tone darkly amused "That by using the remaining sample of Isley's flesh, we would be potentially creating another Abyssal One."

"The goals of the Organization are paramount Dae, achieving the power needed to retake our lands is all that matters." Rimuto answered and with that he left.


	8. Chapter 5: Travelling Companions, Part 1

Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 05: **Companions  
by Geor-sama

* * *

"Ok," Naruto grumbled, leaping from branch to branch making his way through the forest in search of his prey. "Where the hell are they?"

Coming to a stop Naruto glowered darkly at the surrounding canopy, the only reason he was even in this forest was that while he had been following the road that would take him north to where he had sensed that massive flare of chakra, the sounds of fighting had caught his attention. It was at times like this that he hated the enhanced senses Kurama had given him after years of being imprisoned in his body and it was at times like this that he wished there was an Inuzaka around to share the annoyance. Yet even with his enhanced senses, it was proving difficult to pick up a trail.

Nonetheless none of that explained why he was in the forest, looking for some fight that he had no business getting involved in. Naruto was slowly coming to realize that along with being a survivor, he was a protector – or as others might say, he had a hero complex. It was why he held back from outright killing his opponents, why he tended to see the best in people, and why he never hesitated to rush to the protection those that needed help.

It was also this trait that explained why a man that rarely killed had no problem with cutting Yoma down like weeds; he might hesitate to kill people or even animals, but monsters were something else entirely. The normal rules did not apply to them, and while many might debate what was or was not a monster, Uzumaki Naruto had no trouble judging what qualified as a monster. Yoma were most definitively monsters – more so than the werewolves that roamed the mountain ranges of Tetsu no Kuni, or the Bijū were believed to be.

Yoma were nothing more than parasites that took delight in eating human guts and spreading uncontrolled chaos their very existence created.

Shaking his head to discard such philosophical thoughts, Naruto came to a stop on a tree branch, he crossed his arms debating on if he should use Sage mode to locate the source of the fighting. No, that would be a waste of time since the people around here had such weak chakra signatures which would make it extremely difficult to tell them apart from the animals roaming the forest. If he combined Sage Mode with chakra from Kurama then he would be able to detect their negative intentions, but he had no desire to bring every nearby Claymore down on him.

Hmm, he was really going to find out what their ranges were or at least their reaction times because this was fast becoming annoying – he promptly smacked his forehead. Talk about overlooking the obvious, if he entered Sage Mode then he could detect any nearby Claymore easily, since they stood out like lighthouses to his Sage senses. Once he was certain that he was in the clear he could make use of his Kurama's chakra without worrying about having to fight comrades of Teresa.

Cracking his neck he brought his hands together in preparation for doing just that, when something slammed into the trunk of the tree he was standing in. Looking down as the tree shook from the impact he was surprised to discover a Claymore careening off at an odd angle away from his tree. She hit the ground hard, but managed to roll into a crouch, bringing her sword around in a shaky defensive position.

A hulking brute of muscle stalked into the clearing a second later, pausing next to the tree Naruto was perched in, glowering at her.

"You annoying half-breed bitch," The man snarled, his voice an odd deep, clotted voice "I had a good situation, staying with those bandits was perfect! Then you had to come along and you couldn't just go along with their plans, you had to try and kill me!"

"It is your own fault," The Claymore countered, gold eyes narrowing "if you had slipped away when they found me I wouldn't have noticed you."

In response to her statement, there was a sudden surge of foul chakra from the disguised Yoma a micro-second before its already hulking muscles bulged and bones cracked. The clothes it had been wearing quickly became strips of cloth, hair thinning before disappearing completely leaving on oddly shaped bald head. The monster's transformation was completed a minute later with its flesh slate-grey and now far more freakishly muscular than ever.

With an ominous growl it lunged forward, twisted talon like nails plunging for her chest only to grind against the Claymore's sword. The impact forced the woman back down to her knees while raining sparks down on her, and a vicious kick from the Yoma to her chest sent the Claymore flying. The woman managed to twist her body around in the air using her sword, allowing her to land unsteadily on her feet, but in yet another defensive position.

Naruto's first instinct was to leap into action and help her out, she was hurt and that thing was damn fast, but he held back against his instinctive urge to help. Wounded or not she was still capable of fighting and Naruto had grown up enough to realize that lending a helping hand could be the worst thing he could do. Still, there was no way he would let the woman die; keeping someone alive was worth a temporary blow to their pride.

So he watched as the two clashed once more, and then even more intently as their battle evolved; The Yoma was stronger and faster, but it came straight ahead relentlessly. The Claymore on the hand lacked its sheer strength or speed, but was far more maneuverable and she made good use of the various angles of attacks. Over all the battle was far more even than he had expected, especially for someone that he was fairly sure had a limited amount of experience.

Naruto was no swordsman or a fully trained taijutsu expert but he had lived through enough life-or death battles to see the rough edges that surrounded her style.

He was just beginning to think she might win when abruptly the battle shifted in favor of the Yoma - she managed to fake it into another lung and then spun around the out thrust arm with a burst of unexpected speed, striking out at its now exposed flank. There was a spray of purple blood and the Yoma roared in pain, lashing out wildly and struck the sword as she brought it up in an attempt at parrying the blow.

Unfortunately while she had managed a temporary boost of speed she had failed to match its sheer strength and the impact bowled her over. By the time she recovered from the unexpected somersault the Yoma was slamming into her with enough force to knock her sword from her hand. Disarmed and winded she had no way to defend against the Yoma's claws as they tore into her side, ripping it open in a thick spray of blood.

She collapsed in a bloody heap, with an anguished cry of pain.

The suddenness of it had caught Naruto by surprise, but before it could even think of continuing the assault Naruto was moving. A wind laced kunai tore through its shoulder, forcing it away from the helpless woman and by the time it recovered and started looking for its attacker, Naruto was on the ground and charging it. Despite the fact that he was surging his own chakra to boost his speed and strength the Yoma still managed to duck his round-kick, and attempt a flying tackle as a counter.

Sadly for the Yoma, despite the fact that Naruto had somehow mistimed his kick, it was nowhere near ready for an opponent like him. Register the flying tackle, Naruto brought one hand down on the top of its forehead and using it as a hand-spring to aide in his jump, vaulted over the Yoma while at the same time ramming the Yoma face-first into the ground. Landing from his impromptu leap, Naruto grinned turning as the thing scrambled back to its feet and spinning glowered at him.

"Fool, you might be fast, but do you truly believe a mere human can win against a Yoma? We have been hunting your kind since ancient times-"

"That's nice." Naruto interrupted hurling several more kunai at it. The Yoma dodged the blades apparently it had learned something from its first encounter, though sadly it had not learned the right lesson. In mid-dodge it was caught completely by surprise as Naruto appeared behind it and drove an elbow between its shoulders, propelling the Yoma across the clearing at breakneck speed.

The Yoma crashed into a tree, causing it to groan, and then slid to the ground in a dazed heap.

Unable to resist a flare for the dramatic, Naruto held his arm out and activated the seal on the palm of his hand summoning his sword. A second later Naruto shot forward, covering the distance between them in the blink of an eye, reappearing beside the Yoma just as it managed to stand back up. Pivoting in a tight spin, Naruto used the momentum to help generate the needed force of the backhand swing he delivered to its neck.

The sheer force needed for the '_Frog Kenjutsu: Tongue Sweep_' slid him further away from the creature, even as the Yoma's head hit the ground with a meat 'plop' and its body hurtled through the air raining purple blood as it went. Slowly Naruto relaxed his posture and lowered his shaking arm, driving the blade into the ground and then knelt beginning to form a string of hand seals to summon the various weapons back to him.

Slipping the blades back into his hip pouch, silently blessed whoever had created the seals that made _'Buki Kyuchoise'_ possible and thanked Ero-sennin for both his hidden stash of sealing materials and not filling the emergency storage area with porn. Of course, the usefulness of the technique was somewhat hampered by the fact that he wouldn't be able to summon them in public, but at a time like this when the only other person around was an unconscious Claymore - Shit!

Eyes wide he stood and turned in one fluid motion just as a surge of chakra flared behind him - finding the Claymore in a kneeling position, muscles bulging and face distorting as her chakra surged around her in coiling strands. Belatedly Naruto realized that her gold eyes were locked on him, her jaw muscles clenching as if she were biting back a scream, as her chakra surged even higher before abruptly subsiding. There was a moment of utter silence, and then slowly the sound of labored breathing filled the air, a minute or so after that she lurched to her feet: but even as she swayed in place never once did her now silver eyes waver from him.

Shakily she took a step and then another, pitching and swaying like a drunk for a few paces before she faltered and then collapsed.

Naruto moved out of instinct and caught her, keeping the woman from smashing her head against the ground. Easing the now unconscious woman into a more comfortable position, his gaze turned to where she had been wounded, finding only smooth pale flesh. Admittedly it wasn't the first time Naruto had seen rapid healing, Tsunade had been capable of it not to mention Kabuto, but it was the first time he had seen anything close to the quasi-regeneration he was capable of.

If the principle was the same, there was no telling how long she'd be out; it all depended on the severity of the wound that had been healed. Though, that was just based off his experience from when he had been younger, as he got older and adjusted to the healing provided by the chakra of Kurama that had changed. But since he had no other frame of reference for this type of thing, he would just have to wait and see.

Sitting back on his heels he studied her face, and as the surprise faded over his discovery, he began to wonder what exactly she had seen. He briefly considered leaving her, but Naruto wasn't capable of doing that to a woman - like his godfather Jiraiya, he had a soft spot for women. So yeah, there was no way Naruto could just leave a woman lying helpless in the middle of a forest, which meant he was stuck answering any awkward questions she might have later.

Shaking his head, Naruto got to his feet and retreated a few steps before creating four Kage Bunshin, one of whom wordlessly disappeared into the forest in search for her sword. Another went in the opposite direction, disappearing into the forest downwind of them to begin building a fire.

"Oh sure, they get the easy jobs." The remaining Kage Bunshin grumbled, faces dark with scowls.

"Should have been quicker." Naruto commented, adding in annoyance "At least you won't have to remember what comes next."

"This is the world smallest violin," one of the Kage Bunshin said holdings its fingers up and rubbing them together "and its playing just for you."

"Really? That's the best I can come up with?" Naruto asked, shaking his head before shooing them away. The Kage Bunshin shared a sigh and moved to do their selected jobs of collecting the Yoma body and head, carrying them in the direction where the second Kage Bunshin had gone. Alone once more, Naruto reached into his Sage coat and produced a scroll from one of the inner pockets; twirling it, Naruto crouched.

Opening it he spread it open, and then applied chakra to the storage seal it contained releasing the supplies he had gathered up before leaving Demerin. Picking up a blanket he stepped over the pile of items and draped it over the unconscious Claymore, then after a moments debate, pulled off his Sage coat and folding it up into a makeshift pillow, slid it under her head. Satisfied with that, he returned to the scroll sealing the items away again, and slipped it into an inner pocket of the orange and black jacket he wore.

That done Naruto selected another scroll, which he opened and then activating its storage scroll summoned the massive Toad Summoning Scroll it contained. Opening the hidden compartment Naruto retrieved a notebook and pen, then closing it up resealed the massive scroll into the storage scroll and returned it to its place on the inside of his jacket. Taking his notebook and pen he selected a nearby tree and settled in against the base of it, wondering not for the first time, if Jiraiya might have simply taken up writing porn to kill boredom.

"Either way," Naruto muttered starting his first sentence "I'm _**not**_ writing another Icha Icha."

* * *

Pamela returned to the land of the living with a groan of pain, horribly aching muscles serving as an unneeded reminder of what had happened. In hindsight the ambush had been obvious, but at the time she had been slow to notice the signs that would have alerted her to the presence of the Yoma. She had blundered right into its ambush and it cost her a broken arm, but it ensured that Pamela would never make the same mistake again.

Closing her eyes she concentrated on her heartbeat, before sitting up - an action that left her back and side screaming in protest.

"You're up!"

Pamela's head snapped up and around at the voice, instinctively trying to locate any hint of Yoki but found nothing. What she did find was a tan, blond-haired and blue eyed man, wearing an unusual style of black and orange clothes sitting under a tree with a book in hand. A second later she noticed the fact that both of his cheeks were tattooed with three dark lines resembling whiskers.

"Who are you?" Pamela asked, struck by a niggling sensation of having seen him before.

"Me?" The man asked, a wide grin starting to from, transforming his face into an oddly charming countenance. "I'm Naruto, hero and all 'round awesome ninja."

"_Ninja_?" Pamela murmured, confused, before noticing her sword lying nearby. Abruptly she realized why he had seemed so familiar earlier, before she had blacked out from using too much Yoki to speed up her healing he had appeared and effortlessly killed the Yoma. Eyes widening she turned her focus back on Naruto. "Are you part of the Organization?"

"Nah," Naruto said with a shrug, closing his book and pulling his knee in to rest an arm on it "I sorta know Teresa, but she's the only one of you I've met."

"I see." Pamela said, the corners of her mouth twitching into a frown.

"Uhm, ok, do you happen to have a name?" Naruto asked, looking at her strangely.

"Knowing my name would be pointless." Pamela answered, arching an eyebrow. "I am among the lowest ranked of Warriors, Number 40, even should I gain experience and rise in rank I will not have a long life."

"Bullshit." Naruto countered fiercely, blue eyes seeming to grow dark as he scowled at her "When I became a Genin and went on my first real mission, I was told that 'In the world of Shinobi there are only those who use and those who are used. We Shinobi are simply tools.' But we're humain and just as important as anyone else, all of us equally worth remembrering even after our death. So don't spout that sorta crap, it's a lie and you know it!"

In the silence that followed his tirade, Pamela found it impossible to do anything but stare at him. It was true that a few words had been strange sounding, but not so strange that she couldn't figure out their general meaning, but far more important was the heat in his tone and the intensity of his gaze. It left her experiencing the half-forgotten shame of a scolded child, something she both did not enjoy experiencing and hated that he could so easily invoke such a sensation within her.

"Nobody's worth forgetting, no matter how short their life or how evil." Naruto said his voice softer.

"Pamela." She said at last, her voice low, eyes turning away from his "My name is Pamela."

"Hiya Pamela." Naruto said, grinning brightly once more. "So, you ok? 'Cause I know you got hurt, and you healed up real quick-"

"I am fine. It was not a blow to a vital area." Pamela answered, wondering why he wasn't bothered by how quickly she healed an otherwise fatal wound. "I only lost consciousness due to my inexperience at handling such large amounts of Yoki."

"Oh." Naruto said, looking thoughtful as he put his book aside "I guess that makes sense."

"Indeed." Pamela said in agreement, before her eyes narrowed "Now I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"I watched your fight against the Yoma," Pamela stated, noting the way his shoulders subtly stiffened "What I want to know, how is it that you started the fight without a sword and yet you made one appear from thin air?"

"Are you sure that's what you saw?" Naruto asked, giving her a skeptical look "I mean, making a sword appear from thin air? That's impassibilis isn't it, how would I even be able to do somethin like that?"

Pamela started at him blankly for several long minutes, trying to puzzle through some of his words, she had been warned that some of the more remote villages -especially those in the mountain ranges- would seem like they were speaking a different language but this was her first time experiencing it. He shifted slightly from her attention, but it was so minor that anyone else would have missed it.

"Firstly, I know what I saw in your fight against the Yoma. Secondly, you were moving far faster than any human should be capable of, fast enough that you appeared almost a blur even to my eyes. Thirdly, and lastly, when you struck the Yoma there was a flash of light."

"Yea, the thing 'bout that is..." Naruto started, before he visibly deflated "damn it."

Pamela remained silent, watching him, gambling that doing so would bring more answers than if she pressed him. After a few more minute of silence he sighed, letting his head fall back to rest against the tree. After another moment of expectant silence, he lifted his head to stare at her with a resigned look of annoyance.

"Fine." Naruto muttered "Fine. Ok. I could do all of that 'cause of Chakra."

"_Chakra_?" Pamela asked while fighting back the grimace as her lower back protested its new position.

"Chakra is a form of energy all living things naturally produce to some degree. By combining the physical energy-" Here he held up his left hand "and the spiritual energy-" this time he held up his right hand "you create Chakra." Naruto abruptly brought his hands together forming a sphere of swirling energy in his hands.

"Impossible!" Number 40 gasped startled, staring at the sphere of energy he held in his outstretched palm. The closet thing she had ever heard of such energy was the Yoki that only her sisters and Yoma possessed, and none of them could do what he had just done. "How are you capable of doing that?"

"Like I said, Chakra." Naruto answered with a shrug, lifting the swirling sphere higher. "This is the highest level of Chakra Form Manipulation called the Rasengan."

"I have never heard of such an energy nor of anyone capable of such an ability." Pamela said as the sphere broke apart and he closed his hand. "Where did you learn to do this?"

"In Konoha, the village where I grew up." Naruto answered, his smile dimming - no doubt he was remembering something painful. With a slight shake of his head to continued with his explanation "As for why you've never heard of it, I remember there was a village when I was younger that didn't know about chakra. They thought the stuff me and Ero-sennin did was magic, so maybe you have heard of it but it's always been called 'magic'."

"That is possible, but this _Chakra _is it similar to Yoki?" Pamela asked, wondering if perhaps Naruto was just a Yoma that had some strange type of Yoki. That would certainly be more believable than some strange, never heard of before power. But if that was the case why was he playing this game with her, he should have killed her while she lay helpless before him.

"Its complicated," Naruto said slowly, scowling "but essentially _Yoki_ is Chakra. There's all kinds of Chakra, _Yoki_ just happens to be the type unique to _Yoma_ and Claymore's."

"I will admit that everything you have said is a logical and fair explanation," Pamela said retrieving her sword from where it lay and using it as leverage regained her feet. "Unfortunately, I do not have the luxury of being lax."

"Uh, what the hell does that mean?" Naruto asked, quickly getting to his feet as well.

"It means that while your answer makes sense, it is entirely too possible that you are simply a Yoma with strange Yoki playing some angle I am unable to fathom." Pamela explained, lifting her sword causing her lower back to protest at the extra weight.

"H-Hey!" Naruto said, holding his hands up and waving them. "I'm not a _Yoma_, I'm humain! Humain!"

"Sadly I cannot take your word for that," Pamela said as she adopted a ready position, large sword held in two hands and pulled back to the right in preparation for an attack. A burst of Yoki flared her eyes gold and she shot forward, but her swing struck only the tree that had been behind Naruto. Abruptly she adjusted her weight and sprang after Naruto who had dodged to the side at her initial attack, this time her sword ward aimed at his stomach, only to once more miss the target - this time Naruto had chosen to jump over her head.

Spinning around, sword leading the motion, she tried to catch him from behind, only for her weapon to clash against a strangely designed dagger. His shoulders surged and he forced her sword to the side, forcing her to leap back. Landing she prepared for his incoming attack, only instead of launching one, he instead jammed the blade into his own hand - his face didn't even twitch at the impact, or when he pulled the blade free.

"Now, I know _Yoma_ can do all sorts of strange things," Naruto said, holding his palm up to reveal the red blood now flowing freely from the wound in his hand. "But I'm pretty sure the one thing none of them can do is change the color of their blood. Red means humain, purple means not-humain, right?"

"Normally yes," Pamela admitted after a moment, watching him cautiously "But if you are a Yoma with strange Yoki, it is also possible that you could either manipulate the color of your blood."

"If you really believe that I'm a mutant _Yoma_," Naruto said with a heavy hint of annoyance in his voice, spreading his arms and lifting his chin to expose his throat "Take my head."

"What?" Pamela asked, caught completely off guard by that.

"No, seriously, if that's what it'll take to make you believe me, then cut my head off." Naruto countered, blue eyes staring at her with a strange intensity.

Breaking eye contact, Pamela set her feet firmly and grasped the hilt of her sword with both hands rising over head in preparation for a killing blow. Only she wasn't entirely sure that it was needed, part of her wanted to believe his explanation but her training told her that had to be a Yoma of some kind. Could she actually strike him down - Hilt creaking under her grasp, her human mind began to battle against her yoma born instincts.

All it would take is one swift motion to take his head, but could she risk potentially making a mistake of such magnitude?

"I'm waiting."

Her face hardened, and abruptly she sheathed her claymore on her back.

"Hehe thanks." Naruto said with a grin, relaxing his posture and producing a bandage began to wrap his wounded hand "I wasn't sure you believed me-"

"I am still uncertain," Pamela answered curtly, turning away from him "But I cannot make a mistake like that. So until I am sure one or another, you will travel with me. If you do turn out to be a Yoma, I will not hesitate to cut you down."

"Wonderful." Naruto grumbled, sounding more annoyed than ever.

* * *

The northern lands known as Alphonse were a harsh landscape of rugged mountains, shadowy forests, gloomy skies, and a slumbering volcano. It was here in this remote land of ice and snow, amid the fading vestiges of a forgotten kingdom that had stretched from shore to shore, where the slave trade thrived. Here too, hidden among the tall hardy people who still whispered legends of a bygone glory, dwelt monsters only whispered of in the darkest of tales.

A man appeared in the middle of the narrow snowbound road, so suddenly and silently that if anyone had been present they would think he appeared from thin air. He was a lean, handsome man in his mid-twenties, with shaggy black hair and silver eyes, dressed in well cared for leather armor. After a moment of staring through the falling snow and into the distances, he started walking; snow cracking under foot like the sound of shatter glass.

In the distance drifting up from the snow covered valleys, far too faint for any human to hear, he caught the faint sound of singing and laughing. Absently he wondered how they could be so oblivious to his presence, or of the other horrors that they now laid claim to this land. Dismissing such thoughts, he continued his trek with his easy gait, and soon an impressive wrought-iron gate came into view through the falling snow.

He didn't slow his approach, nor seemed to give any indication that the gate was even there, and for good reason. When he was three steps away he jumped, soaring high over the barrier, before landing cat-footed on the other side. Without missing a step he continued onward, as the road steadily began to climb higher and steeper, he began to walk faster as if he had found a new purpose to his trek.

A subtle crunch of snow to the right caught his attention, bringing him to an abrupt halt. Turning his head, he discovered a snow lion stalking him; it was a massive cat, five feet at the shoulder and eight feet from head to tail, with rounded protruding ears and a ruff mane around its neck. Silver and amber eyes locked, two predators frozen in the snow - the snow lion flashed its oversized fangs while issuing a low rumbling growl. In response he released a brief burst of yoki, silver eyes flashing gold, and the snow lion growled once more its ears now laying flat against its head, before it slowly backed away and disappeared into the snow flurries.

"Why does he waste his energy on such taunts?" Rigardo murmured in annoyance at Isley and the mind games he played.

After a moment, Rigardo resumed his trek through the snow, wondering what Isley was planning. Why send him to the southern border of Alphonse just to gather information and let slip an 'edited' version of their confrontation with Priscilla; for that matter why had Isley even submitted in the first place? Rigardo knew the bitch was powerful, but Isley had been winning their fight - could the Silver White King have panicked by the unexpected surge of yoki?

Rigardo replayed every moment of the brief battle, before deciding that Isley had not been panicked or tricked, nor was there a reason for him to submit to her. Oh she was at least his equal in strength, but Isley was one of the oldest beings in existence, so the former Number 2 had no doubts that Isley could have killed her. Hmm, but it would have left Isley severely weakened...but no, Rigardo would have been in no state to take advantage of that development.

So why submit...unless - no, it couldn't be that!

Coming to a stop as he turned his new thought over, turning it this way and that way, blood lust began to flood him. Isley had gone mad; to not only submit to a _child_, but to do so because he found her attractive! He was committing them to a war with the other Abyssal Ones and the Organization, because of a pretty face! How could he have not realized it before, if Isley had one real weakness, it was for beautiful women.

Lost in the rush of his building anger and blood lust he imagined for one ecstatic moment bursting into the mansion and slaughtering Isley. Then he would turn on Priscilla and rend her limb from limb - with great effort Rigardo dragged himself from the brink of giving into his own madness. His honor demanded he stifle such blind urges, he would waste his life attempting such a thing, if he was to die then surely it would be better to do so with his honor intact.

It was the only thing he had left of his humanity and far too precious to lose in anger over the decisions of a mad man.

Releasing a heavy breath, Rigardo started walking once more, and before long a handsome snow caped manor came into view at the end of the road lights glinting through thick-paned windows. As he drew closer he could make out the faint hint of a vast frozen woods that stretched out behind it, but soon the view was lost as the manor loomed large. The front door swung open just as his foot touched the first step, and Rigardo paused in mild surprise - but upon seeing nobody waiting he continued up the stairs and stepped inside.

Once inside he noted a middle-aged heavy set woman holding the door open, her eyes downcast and her fear was thick in the air. Human, Rigardo realized with even greater surprise, and one that knows that those who now roam this house are not. Idly he wondered why she was still alive - perhaps she was to be a kind of snack should the mood strike Isley, or most likely Priscilla, but losing interest in the mystery Rigardo crossed the foray following the dim hint of Yoki from the two '_newlyweds_'.

The hallway was wide and tastefully decorated with a thick carpet, ornamental metalwork's and pale faced portraits interspaced with hanging lanterns. He soon reached his destination but hesitated for a brief moment to ensure that his bloodlust was well in hand, before opening the heavy wooden door. The room was smaller than he expected, but still impressive: the walls were spaced with carefully carved oak panels and paintings, the hardwood floor covered with a burgundy carpet. To the left was a low table and sitting couch, on the far right a curio cabinet filled with family mementos and in the back a desk, chair, and behind them a mahogany chest.

"Rigardo. I was beginning to think you were not coming back."

Attention shifting to the marble fireplace he found a lean, strongly-built, ghostly white warrior with long silver hair gazing into the dancing flames. As if sensing his gaze the silver haired man turned, revealing aristocratic features and indigo eyes. Rigardo lingered for a moment on the threshold of the room before finally entering, closing the door behind him as he spoke. "We agreed you are the leader. I have kept the pact and intend to continue keeping it."

Isley, The Silver White King stared at him with open bemused. "You say that with such seriousness, such pride... but remember it was your idea, and it is _your_ honor that holds you to it."

"You could kill me at anytime hence I can only take that to mean you accepted the agreement as well." Rigardo countered calmly, casually glancing at the brown haired child who was sleeping beneath heavy blankets near the fireplace. "I never imagined you would pick such a place as home. In the past you never seemed particularly interested-"

"Life has a way of changing your priorities." Isley said simply, his own eyes flicking toward the sleeping Priscilla as he left his spot in front of the fireplace and settled in behind the desk. "So, how did your trip south go?"

"It went well, word is already spreading of your 'victory', I imagine that soon enough word of it will reach the ears of The Organization, along with Luciela and Riful." Rigardo answered, moving to stand directly in front of the desk. "As for _her _- it's mostly more of the same as what we found once she entered Alphonse. Death, destruction, ruin...for both yoma and humans. But I lost her trail part way through Toulouse, so I can't say if she awoke in the east or south."

"That doesn't matter." Isley said, lacing his fingers together before resting his elbows on the desk "She was born in Musha of Mucha and that is where we shall take her."

"Of course," Rigardo said, masking his annoyance. "When do you plan on doing that?"

"Not for some time," Isley confided. "Now, what of the other matter I asked you to look into?"

"As best I can tell, nobody is aware of what is responsible for that massive yoki surge."

"I see." Isley murmured, his eyes losing focus.

"So how are you going to take her south?" Rigardo asked abruptly, irritated that Isley was ignoring that part of the conversation.

"So much for patience," Isley mused with a faint smile. "Still, you've come a long way from our time as warriors. I half expected you to rush into battle once you had the chance."

"Against who? The other Abyssal Ones? Or maybe the Organization? Or maybe the mysterious Awakened Being that released that massive yoki?" Rigardo countered dryly "I was never so impulsive as to attack such odds alone."

"I suppose that is true." Isley said in acknowledgement as his gaze wandered to the still sleeping Priscilla, seemingly lost in thought.

"So?"

"Simple, we gather allies." Isley answered with a dismissive hand wave as he turned back to focus on Rigardo "Between the three of us, it would be possible to take out a single opponent, but the other two would strike an alliance and no matter how temporary, there would be no way for us to survive it."

"And you think it will be that easy?" Rigardo snapped, his anger and frustration broke through his self-restraint once more. It was one thing to become so mad as to promise to serve Priscilla, but expecting other Awakened Beings to join them was utterly delusional. "You've truly gone mad, it is one thing to lose your mind over _her_ but this is...is, I don't even know what this is! You'll end up killing your allies because none of them are going to willingly join you!"

"Ah, there is the Silver-eyed Lion King." Isley said with a quiet chuckle, but his amused demeanor was offset by a subtle spike of Yoki.

"I - I -" Rigardo choked out as a cold sweat began to trickle down his face and back, now forcible reminded that this was not just another Awakened Being. This was Isley the Silver White King of the North, Former Number 1 of the Male Claymores, and arguable the strongest of the three Abyssal Ones. "Y-Your right, whatever you decide I-I will obey."

"Good." Isley said after a moment, his tone still amused, but his Yoki abated. "As for gathering our allies, it will be easy. We promise that in return for their help, once we've wiped out our enemy's they'll have run of the whole land."

"And, what about the mysterious source of Yoki?"

"A non-factor, whatever is behind that power is strong enough to take whatever it wants. It won't join into an alliance with any of our enemies, because there would be nothing to gain from it. If anything, it will most likely end up killing Luciela or Riful and taking its territory."

"Won't that bring you into direct opposition then?" Rigardo asked in confusion.

"No." Isley said flatly, simply staring at him with cold indigo eyes.

"If we gather allies, the other Abyssal Ones will start to do the same and there is no telling how the Organization will react." Rigardo said at last, hiding his irritation at Isley's silence.

"That's the beauty of my plan." Isley said serenely "Luciela hates everyone - she barely tolerates normal Yoma. She is a solitary woman, an island unto herself and so will be utterly isolated. The Organization will learn nothing until Riful begins to gather her own allies, because does not understand the concept of subtlety, and only after they learn of her actions will the Organization turn its attention to us."

"It will appear obvious that we are preparing for a fight against Riful." Rigardo summarized, pausing for Isley to respond but when he said nothing, Rigardo continued. "But that just means they will move against us correct?"

"In time, perhaps, but Riful is an impatient spoilt child. Once she gathers even a few worthwhile allies she will attempt to seize either Toulouse or Mucha, most likely Mucha since she won't think that the Organization will bother to try stopping her from killing Luciela, instead they'll be focused on me. It will be a foolish decision of course, the Organization knows I desire no other land and so they will focus all of their energy into taking out the eventual winner of the Riful and Luciela battle."

"How can you be so sure that's how things will go?" Rigardo asked with a frown. All of it seemed a little to straight forward to him, and he knew that predicting others actions so far into the future was impossible, even for a being such as Isley.

"Because I have been alive for nearly 2,000 years, as have you, yet unlike you _I_ have been studying. How people act and react, the tragedy of repetition found within the eternal ebb and flow of history." Isley countered, raising a solitary finger from his interlocked hands to point at Rigardo. "I know that despite your veneer of calmness, when the bloodlust strikes you will act without thinking. Just as I know that Riful for all of her power is a perpetual child, only moments away from a temper-tantrum. I also know that while Luciela is the quietest of us, she is also the most vicious."

"And the Organization?"

Isley burst into sudden, cold laughter. "I know them best. Oh yes, make no mistake, they will always do what is in their own best interest."

Rigardo remained silent, disturbed and amazed.

As his laughter died down, Isley refocused his attention on Rigardo. "Now as for our allies, we should start with our old comrades. I think Gobha and Nuadha are still in their caves on the western edge of Alphonse."

"Of course." Rigardo said with a nod, turning to leave before turning back to a curious looking Isley "I do have one last question, if you don't mind."

"Why should I mind?" Isley asked pleasantly, but his gaze held no warmth. "We're comrades after all, friends even. Feel free to ask me anything."

"Once we build this army of Awakened Beings, why don't we simply move first?" Rigardo asked, fighting to ignore the sudden unease he felt in the pit of his stomach "Surely the Organization might even be willing to trade its own existence for allowing us to take on Luciela?"

"Ah, but the answer is obvious. If I so much as even twitch as if I am leaving Alphonse, there is no telling what kind of alliance will form against me." Isley explained "In this coming war, whichever of us makes the first move is doomed to failure."

As Rigardo turned away once more and left, he had a leaden feeling that everything Isley had just told him was a lie. If he had turned around, or glanced in a mirror, he would know it for a fact. Of course he did neither of this things and so he left the room, and eventually the mansion in search of the first members of Isley's army; ah, but if he had looked, Rigardo would have seen a very disquieting thing.

Isley was smiling.

* * *

Uzumaki Naruto was debating about what exactly he should do about his current situation, he had agreed to accompany Pamela without thinking but to be honest he saw no reason to do so. Outside of the fact that he didn't want her thinking he was some kind of strange Yoma, but that was a vague reason and one he didn't care too much about. So as he trudged along at her side, Naruto debated about what exactly he should do.

He could always give her the slip, Naruto had utter confidence that he could disappear on her with no trouble, but that didn't sit well with him. But that was his only alternative to travelling with her, or at least it was the only one he could see. He let out a sigh, disguising it as a yawn since there was no point in provoking her just yet he supposed, and laced his hands behind his head staring at the pale autumn sky.

Looked like he was just going to tag along with her for the moment, besides it wasn't like he was in a hurry. Sighing, he shook his head to clear it and instead focused on the road that carved a deep groove into the side of the mountain. They had been walking for what seemed like a month since they left the stand of trees where she had been ambushed, and Naruto was fast growing tired of it.

"A question plagues me, concerning how you dispatched the Yoma whom attacked me." Pamela suddenly said, breaking the silence that he settled over them, startling Naruto slightly. Not that she broke stride or even glanced at him. "How doth Charka allow you to bring forth your blade and dismiss it so? Could you not have simply dispatched it by use of the _Rasengan_?"

"Uhm...well," Naruto stalled, rubbing the back of his head self-consciously, and then sighed "I suppose I could have killed it with the Rasengan, but I've been trying to use the sword. It's not like I can go around using things like that around villagers. I already have the nickname 'Seraph', using what appears to be magic in front of them...well, lets just say I don't want to provoke any divine wrath."

"Ah." Pamela said "So, the answer to my question of your blade?"

"Oh, yeah, that." Naruto grumbled and then with a sigh held up his hand, revealing the now permanent Weapon Storage Seal. "I used a seal, a 'Weapon Storage Seal' to be exact, so that with the application of chakra I can summon my sword or put it back into 'storage' at will."

"I see." Pamela murmured, eyes moving from his hand back to the direction they were heading "So this _Chakra_ combined with that sigil allows you to summon and dismiss your blade at will."

"Pretty much." Naruto said lacing his hands once more behind his head "Seals are a way of altering reality. You can literally do _**anything**_ with them: you can apply them to anything, use them to seal anything. The only limits to what they are capable of is the user's knowledge of sealing and their chakra capacity."

"I imagine having such skill creates a heavy burden few would choose to bear." Pamela said, glancing sidelong at him once more.

"Sealing doesn't offer the most immediate results and it can be very dangerous, mislearning even the tiniest thing has very nasty results." Naruto confirmed "Most ninja only use them for storage or to sometimes protect an important location."

"It must have been a great undertaking to earn the trust of whomever taught you these things."

"I never got into them when Ero-sennin brought them up. I simply didn't have the patience to study them when I was younger, plus there weren't my thing." Naruto said, chuckling slightly "That always annoyed him, he used seals for almost everything. Sometimes I would refuse to learn a seal just to piss him off."

"Why?"

"Because it was funny," Naruto explained, laughing as he pictured the older man's comical outrage "sometimes it was to get back at him for stealing my money, or skipping out on training me to do his 'research' with his 'female informants' instead. I used to get really ticked about that sort of stuff...but now, I wouldn't really mind."

They both lapsed into silence after that, the only noise the sound of their feet on the hard packed dirt road.

"Doth you think I could make use of such a sigil?" Pamela asked several minutes later, as they left the mountain road and turned off onto another less obvious road.

"Er...I don't think so." Naruto managed, blinking as he glanced at her in surprise. He wasn't sure how to respond to that question, he supposed it was possible - but he wasn't sure if the seals he knew would respond to the kind of chakra she possessed.

"But you claim Yoki to be a different type of _Charka_." Pamela said, turning her head to stare at him intently "Should it not be possible?"

"Uhm, well in theory it might be I guess." Naruto admitted, scratching his head "But the thing is I'm not sure the seals would recognize your _Yoki_ and I'm not sure how to modify them either. It would be just too dangerous to risk really."

"Ah, but if it were to recognize my Yoki?"

"Well _yoki_ is far more potent than most types of chakra. So if it did work, it would probably have unexpected and very nasty consequences." Naruto countered, shaking his head "I'd be better off trying to teach you ninjutsu."

"Such as the _Rasengan_?"

"No." Naruto said curtly, leaving no room for doubt on how serious he was. "That's a...family technique."

"I see." Pamela said, her lips twitching into a faint frown "What of other techniques? Surely there must exist one that you would be willing to teach to me?"

"Hmm," Naruto said, rubbing his chin. There were other techniques he knew, very basic and universal abilities - at least for ninja. It would require making sure she could externalize her chakra, but if she could manipulate her chakra at all then that should be easy enough. "Well, I've only ever taught once, but yeah, I think there's something that you might be able to learn and I'd be comfortable sharing."

"Thank you." Pamela said, turning to face the road once more.

"We'll start after you finish this job you're on." Naruto added simply, content to allow the conversation to lapse into silence. However, just because they weren't talking didn't mean that Naruto stopped thinking about what technique he could teach her. He toyed briefly with trying to pass on his knowledge of the Sexy no Jutsu, but decided he'd rather not tempt fate, and really he could only think of three basic techniques he knew well enough to pick from.

Of course, that still left him with the problem of if she could externalize her chakra - he hoped she could, because otherwise he'd have to start her training with the mind-numbing and soul destroying _Chakra Externalization Exercises_ they had suffered through at the academy. But at least they were a set of exercise that he'd been good at, but that didn't change the fact that they were boring as hell.

Running his fingers through his hair, Naruto heaved a mental sigh deciding that he could think about it more later.

"Sooo..." Naruto drawled, glancing at his companion thoughtfully "Where exactly are we going?"

"We travel to the village of Blacrode," Pamela said "The Organisation was contacted by the village of Imber, their nearest neighbors, due to the notable increase of disappearances. It is to be expected for the occasional villager to vanish. Often these things are caused by ambush by slavers or highway men, sometimes accidents and animal attacks, less often they leave to start anew elsewhere. However, they have been vanishing far to frequently lately, three per month for the last three months."

"So, why not head to Imber then?" Naruto asked puzzled.

"Because the Yoma is not _**in**_ Imber. Before I was beset by the Yoma you dispatched, I had previously scoured the village." Pamela explained "Nor is it the Yoma whom you so easily vanquished, for it travelled with a band of highwaymen and they were recent arrivals in the area. The Yoma whom is responsible for the terror in Imber is young enough that it must still feed constantly but old enough to understand that it must go elsewhere to fed."

"But wouldn't people be keeping an eye out for anything wrong?"

"They do and though Yoma are only able to mimic intelligence and operate on a crude instinctual level they can be rather clever, especially at advanced ages. Our prey most likely learned from an older Yoma at some point, thus it has been able to feed as it needs to, without drawing attention unto itself."

"Uhm, you know that doesn't really explain why they called you guys in now." Naruto said, frowning "I mean, with everything you've explained, why would it suddenly start _**increasing**_ the number of people it kills per month?

"A valid question, 'tis true, and one whose answer is most vexing." Pamela answered "Its cycle has sped up for some unseen reason, and whatever is the cause, it increases the danger it will descend into a feeding frenzy."

"Er...couldn't it just be a Voracious Eater? I mean, they'd eat a lot more than just a normal Yoma right?" Naruto asked, and at her look of disbelief shrugged "What? It makes sense to me. Adult's eat more than babies, so why shouldn't it hold true for _Yoma_?"

"I assume that Teresa told you only that Voracious Eaters are Yoma of great power and age." Pamela said, shaking her head slightly "I too, shared the same thought, until I was beset by the Yoma of yore. Voracious Eaters are rare and powerful creatures and no yoma would dare trespass upon one's domain, even when it is in hibernation."

"Oh." Naruto murmured, blinking, before silence returned between them yet again.

Half an hour later in which there had only been pure silence and walking, Naruto decided that to battle against his new found boredom he would fall back onto an old trick to pass the time. Lacing hands behind his head, Naruto began to happily hum the 'Ramen Song' that Ayame had taught him when he was younger. Unfortunately Naruto had forgotten the fact that the 'Greatest. Song. Ever.' was not meant to be merely hummed, so before long Naruto was singing the insanely upbeat tune with a glee that seemed almost inhuman.

Now as to why this was an unfortunate lapse of judgment stemmed from the fact that he had forgotten that the 'Ramen Song' had a tendency to annoy other people often to the point of violence. Choji and oddly Lee were the exceptions, as both often joined in with him in singing to the greatness of ramen. Of course, neither were present leaving only Naruto to sing the tune on his own, which he did for an hour until finally his companion reached their breaking point.

"Enough." Pamela snapped, rounding on her heel, hand reaching up to clutch the hilt of her sword. Naruto wisely stopped singing, though his mouth was stretched into a wide grin, one that only grew wider as her right eye twitched. "Thank you."

"Why so serious Pammy?" Naruto asked in a falsely innocent tone that would have gotten him punched through a wall by Sakura or Tsunade.

"My name is Pamela." Pamela said slowly, her face suddenly blank of any emotion.

"If you say so." Naruto retorted easily, squinting at her, wondering if he should continue to mess with her or not. Not that he had meant to in the first place, but his better -or was it worse- nature had gotten the better of him once he realized she was irritated. Ultimately though he decided that he should hold off on poking Pamela with the preverbal stick, at least until he got to know her a little better.

Seemingly satisfied with his silence, Pamela turned and continued forward, removing her hand from the hilt of her sword. Naruto followed her lead a minute later, stifling his laughter just to be on the safe side. The road continued on a short distance, the sun beginning to dip toward the horizon causing shadows to crawl across the ground, when they came to a narrow log bridge crossed a rushing stream leading to a forest.

Naruto slowed as the crossed the bridge, eyes moving from side to side scanning the forest with a paranoia that only experienced ninja had; forests were prime places for ambushes, especially when entering one. Pamela continued on, apparently either unbothered or unaware of the potential danger that lurked within the confines of the forest, leaving Naruto to bring up the rear as they drew closer and closer to the sprawling forest that seemed to stretch out forever in both directions.

"Is there a problem?" Pamela asked after a moment, a slender eyebrow arching slightly as she came to a stop and turned back to stare at him.

"Do we have to go this way?" Naruto asked, frowning "can't we go around it?"

"Nay," Pamela answered, her lips compressing into a thin frown "Every moment we waste is another moment that death doth rapidly approach. We must continue forward with all haste."

"Wonderful," Naruto grumbled, following her as she started walking again, adding too softly to be heard "This is for calling her 'Pammy', I just know it."


	9. Chapter 6: Travelling Companions, Part 2

Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 06: **Travelling Companion, Part 2  
by Geor-sama

* * *

If there was one word that could describe Uzumaki Naruto at the moment it would be the word 'bored'.

At first it hadn't been so bad, he could tolerate Pamela and her continued doubt of his status as a human, it was really no different than when he had been growing up in Konoha. He had also been able to tolerate her open doubt concerning his training methods; after all he had doubted Jiraiya's methods when they first met. As a matter of fact the longer they spent together the more Pamela would talk, and though she had a grim personality, she proved interesting.

No the reason he was so bored was the fact that even after roughly two weeks of training, she _still_ couldn't complete the Chakra Externalization Exercise; an exercise that every Academy Student could master in a day or two. By all rights Pamela should have mastered it in an half-hour, max, since she could already manipulate her own chakra and yet she hadn't been able to make any progress at all. Which left him trapped with her in the woods isolated from all human contact - the only reason he hadn't disappeared on Pamela in the middle of the night was his ingrained bullheaded determination to prove himself.

Scowling he threw a glance at the lithe blonde woman, feet shoulder wide and hands lifted into the basic molding position, trying to activate the seal on the slip of paper she was holding. At her continued lack of success, possible reasons for her failure roamed through his mind, and then with a sigh Naruto let his head fall back to thump against the tree he was sitting under. All of his thoughts kept coming back to only two explanations, either her chakra coils weren't properly developed or the sealing process used to fuse them with the power of a Yoma was screwing things up for her.

If it was the first one there was nothing he could do, if it was the second one...well he wasn't sure what he could do in that case. Hell, he wasn't even sure how to figure out which explanation it was, Sage Mode didn't reveal chakra pathways after all. Maybe if he could see the seal they used, he could eliminate that possibility - but that wasn't the sort of thing you asked someone that was still pretty much a stranger to see.

With another sigh Naruto turned his attention back to the book in his lap covering Basic Seals, the majority of which he already knew, and finishing the section about sealing the various elements like fire turned to the next section. It wasn't his first idea on how to pass the time; there were a few wind ninjutsu he had seen over the last few months that he wouldn't mind trying to puzzle out. However, he couldn't risk sneaking away or creating Kage Bunshin to do the job, because there was too high a risk of her discovering even more of his ability's and he wanted to keep as much under wraps as he could.

It was one thing passing on basic techniques, but letting her see what chakra was truly capable of would be a very bad idea.

He remembered the lesson on the importance of information Ibiki had taught during his first and only Chūnin Exam, so there was no reason to let her and by extension the Organization discover what chakra was truly capable of. Even if it did mean that for the immediate future, he was stuck reviewing seals - which to be honest while not nearly as exciting as learning ninjutsu, were equally important.

"I have been at this task for a fortnight and still experience failure." Pamela said, pulling his attention to her "Mayhap there be some detail you art overlooking?"

"Look, that exercise was designed for new Academy Students...eight and nine year old kids." Naruto countered closing his book to focus on her completely "The seal is the most basic one there is, I triple checked it, and everybody gets it in two days."

"If you doth speak the truth, then why art my efforts stymied?" Pamela asked, silver eyes narrowing "Art you implying that it is my own failings that hinder my efforts?"

"I'm not saying that," Naruto said, getting to his feet just in case she decided to attack him. "I'm just saying this shouldn't be taking so long and I'm not sure why. I mean hell, even I managed it and at that age I had way to much chakra and utterly sucked at manipulating it."

"Mayhap then, it is a difference between ourselves that is at fault?" Pamela asked, face turning passive as she considered him.

"Well, I thought about that," Naruto said slowly, wary that at any moment she would leap to her standard 'mutant yoma' accusation. Seeing her interest at his words, he scratched the back of his head wondering how exactly he should bring the subject up. Deciding that it would probably be best to just plunge into it, he cleared his throat before continuing "There are two reasons, but the only one I could figure it out would be to know the sealing method to merge you with a Yoma."

"I see." Pamela said, arching a slender eyebrow "You art sure that should you know this method of _sealing_ you may be able to locate what hinders my efforts?"

"Er...yeah, I think. I mean I'd still have to work out the details, I'm not **that** good at seals so it's not like I could fix it instantly." Naruto said shrugging "First we'd have to get the Organization to show me...uh Pamela, is there a reason you're taking your clothes off?"

Pamela paused, hand at the shoulder clasps of her off-white leotard, staring at him with a look of utter indifference. "Did you not wish to view the method by which the Organization has created a warrior such as me?"

"Uhm, well, yeah-" Naruto said slowly, eyes widening as the clasps unsnapped allowing the material to part and reveal the entirety of her upper torso. Whatever she wished to show him was forgotten as he took in her exposed breasts, his face turning a bright red as he did so. Wow, ok, so...yeah...wow... Naruto tried to tear his eyes away from her perky breasts while trying to keep his mouth from gaping open, and then he noticed something important.

Taking a step closer, his eyes traced the contour of what appeared to be a hand sized vicious stretch of dark, bumpy flesh just below her breasts. It was like a wound only now beginning to scab over, its edges fused to the smooth flesh of her sternum as if they had been melted together - and strangest of all, it appeared that it breathed in a rhythm counter to Pamela's own. Naruto fought the urge to reach out and poke it, but he could not look away, filled with a strange kind of fascination.

"Behold the means by which the Organization begets half-human and half-yoma warriors. By consuming the befouled blood of a Yoma we gain speed they cannot match and we gain an otherworldly strength by taking tainted Yoma flesh into our body." Pamela explained in an utterly flat tone. "Yet, with this sacrifice we become that which is needed to deliver humanity from the Yoma threat."

"Does it hurt?" Naruto asked, before wincing, registering his question.

"Tis' done at a young age, but the pain experienced is enough to shatter many minds, and lingers for months." Pamela answered, her voice carrying a tremor of emotion "The only solace to be found within those darkest of hours is clinging to one another during the night. Truly, while it is only a small comfort, in the midst of such pain the smallest of comfort if precious."

Naruto didn't respond to that, because the only words that would fit would be 'I understand' and they struck him as both stupid as well as trite. He knew that it would annoy him if he told her about his own experience from before he mastered the chakra of Kurama, when his flesh would burn off and his blood boiled, and she said 'I understand'. Both had experienced mind-numbing pain, both understood it, but saying those words instantly reduced it to something shallow and meaningless.

Thankfully Pamela didn't expect him to say anything, and after another minute or so, pulled her top back into place fastening the shoulder clasps.

"Doth you have other questions?" Pamela asked.

"Er...yeah," Naruto admitted, shrugging awkwardly as he forced aside a newly emerging discomfort at talking about this sort of stuff. Which in a way he found funny, since when he was younger asking these sorts of questions wouldn't have bothered him in the slightest. "So, how exactly does it change your body - I mean, you know, besides the obvious..."

"We require very little to survive." Pamela said curtly "Due to the presence of the Yoma within our bodies, we must eat and sleep only once every other marrow. If the need doth arise, we may also go without for half a fortnight."

"Half a fortnight?" Naruto asked, scowling as he turned that over in his head, then remembering that fortnight meant two weeks blinked in understanding. "Oh, so you can go a week without food or sleep?"

"Yes."

"Wow." Naruto said followed by a low whistle - that was an impressive feat, especially since they didn't have his ungodly stamina or other extenuating factors. It was more than what he knew the majority of ninja would have been capable of, some couldn't go an hour without eating or sleeping. But as impressive as it was, could it also have a hand to play in why she couldn't externalize her chakra?

"Doth knowing this help?"

"Maybe, I think." Naruto said as he turned what he could remember about chakra over in his mind. Noticing her expectant look, Naruto sighed, deciding that while he might not know the exact details he should at least give her his rough idea. "I think it's the method they used on you. See the _Yoki_ hasn't really merged with your own chakra...it just sorta smothered it? Anyway, I think it means that it can't follow your body's natural chakra pathways the way it's supposed to because it's still 'outside' your body."

"Is there naught you can do?" Pamela asked, frowning as her head lowered, reminding Naruto vaguely of a younger Konohamaru.

"Uh, I don't know." Naruto said, scratching the back his head and shifting his weight from foot to foot. Maybe if he modified the exercise seal to forcible draw her chakra out, or he could try to force the yoki to merge with her natural chakra – ugh, this was going to take some serious thought and that was not his strongest point. Lost in thoughts and considerations of how to fix this situation, he barely noticed as Pamela turned away and moved to her sword and armor.

His distraction only lasted however, until she pulled her sword from where she had place.

"Uhm, I know your disappointed Pamela, but you don't need to try and kill me." Naruto said, suddenly alert, hand subtly moving to the kunai holster he was wearing.

"Be at ease, I seek not your death." Pamela said, hefting her sword into a casual ready position "My intention is to deliver unto you restitution for my earlier presumption that you were anything less than human."

"Huh?" Naruto managed, blinking almost owlishly, before realizing what she meant - or at least what he thought she meant. "You mean, uh, that you want to teach me how to sword fight?"

"Indeed. I offer my own expertise, such as it is." Pamela answered, inclining her head slightly "You seek not to invite worship from the villages, but to doth this you must know how to wield your blade properly."

"Uhm, not that I don't appreciate the thought but I know all I need to." Naruto said "I mean, I'm no swordsman but I know that nothing can live without its head."

"Tis true," Pamela admitted, before adding "However, do not discount the time when you shalt encounter a Yoma whom you will be unable to overwhelm with your speed. Tis best to learn this skill now than wait until you have no other recourse than to reveal your abilities. Nor should you overlook the humans you will encounter - both highwayman and merely the foolhardy who seek to test their skills. If all you are capable of is decapitation, you will invite only greater problems upon your neck."

"Huh, hadn't thought about that." Naruto admitted, not that he was worried about the Yoma he could move faster than she even knew, but the people were something else. He had been thinking that he could just deal with them using his kunai, but that **could** make people even more curious about his skills. But more importantly, she had just admitted that he was human and was now offering to make it up to him. "Alright, I'm game."

"Allow me to offer this praise before we begin." Pamela said eyes pinning him with their intensity "You have gazed upon my disfigurement and revealed naught of your disgust, normally only the Handlers of the Organization are capable of such a feat, so it speaks well of your character."

"Uh, being disgusted never even crossed my mind." Naruto responded in startled surprise as heat returned to his cheeks at the memory of her exposed breasts. Yes she had a horrible wound, and he definitely wasn't happy about it, but somehow it failed to detract from her 'assets'.

"Oh." Pamela said simply, her face revealing a brief glimpse of surprise and a faint blush.

No sooner had she said that than Naruto was forced to summon his sword and desperately deflected an angled stroke that would have split him in half. The impact sent him skidding back accompanied by a shiver running up his arm to his shoulder, making him realize that her eyes were gleaming gold. Damn it - Was it just him or did he inherent some sort of curse from Jiraiya to say exactly the wrong thing at the wrong time to women.

* * *

Manipulating her opponents Yoki so that its attack went wide, Galatea leapt away from the towering Yoma placing extra distance between them. Landing well outside its range of immediate counter-attack, she flicked her eyes around her surroundings once more, studying the ghost village. Not that she had expected much to change between the battle began and now, but still it was just common sense to keep an eye on your surroundings.

Registering the Yoma's approach, she flipped over the sudden lunging thrust instinctively aligning her Yoki to its own and managed to redirect its secondary attack allowing her to land and move away without harm. Only she didn't get a chance to completely regain her bearings due to her opponent closing the gap between them with far more speed than something that size should be capable of. Galatea just barely managed to draw her sword and parry the first attack before they quickly devolved into a seemingly endless series of slashes, thrust and parries.

Mouth pressed in a severe line, Galatea studied the Yoma she was currently fighting trying to find something she could use to her advantage. Only it was only reinforcing the fact that her opponent was far from the 'usual' Yoma: It stood just a little over ten feet tall, on either side of its temple were bony protrusions that could only be called horns- Oh and its hands had seemingly fused together creating a pair of blackened blades.

She also couldn't miss the fact that it was studying her as intently as she was studying it, which was another oddity of its personality. When they had arrived in the village it had approached them without any pretense or fear, and asked _**politely **_for their names and rank. From there she had been noticing other little quirks in its actions, like claiming it had a name 'Hastur', creating a very alarmingly real illusion of intelligence.

All of which, when added up, led to a very disturbing pattern of thought – it was not an Awakened Being, but neither was it a normal Yoma.

Which meant that the only conclusion Galatea could come to was that this was a true Voracious Eater; a Yoma that had lived too long and as a result became vastly more powerful. Part of her wanted to dismiss it as a wild idea, but the rest of her accepted the thought without reservation, mainly because it would mean that being forced to use ten percent of her Yoki just to achieve a stalemate would be a little less maddening.

Still, it wasn't much better since it was still fury inducing; because she was supposed to be stronger… better than this. Galatea was not like her sisters, she could not accept being stymied by this ugly, imperfect creature calmly. Everything she did was focused on one thing, and one thing alone, perfection – from her looks, to her sword technique, to her ability to manipulate and sense yoki.

So this thing went against her sensibilities far worse than any Yoma or Awakened Being, which meant that the eyesore needed to be removed. But this in turn only made her even angry since to do so would mean attacking it with overwhelming power and to do that she would need to break self-imposed limit of twenty percent. But at least she would not been under the influence of her Yoki for long, and the only that would get a glimpse of how ugly she became would be the Voracious Eater and it would be dead before it could even register the sight.

Decision made she adjusted the grip on her blade as it clashed against its bladed arms and using the power in the clash, flew away from it, unleashing her mental barriers of the Yoki slumbering within her. Sensing the approaching wall of a building from behind, she used her sword to alter her position, allowing her feet to hit first before pushing off with such force that the building collapsed in her wake.

Galatea met the Voracious Eater in mid-charge, using her sword to change her position once more, allowing her to slam her feet into its chest first while her blade pierced its thick neck muscles burying itself up to the hilt in its throat. The impact forced the massive create to stumble back, trying to regain its bearings, but before it could fully recover Galatea kicked off the wall of muscles her feet were braced against flipping away, and in the process bifurcated its neck and head.

The force of her attack hurled the Voracious Eater somersaulting across the ruined village crashing through crumbling walls of abandoned homes as it went. Its flight was cut short only when it struck the ancient, gnarled tree located in the center of the ghost village with enough force to smash it apart. This oddly resulted in a nearly blinding flash of blue-white light, making Galatea wince against it and stumble as she landed from her own flip.

The blinding light lasted for several long minute before finally beginning to fade, minutes in which Galatea struggled to suppress her Yoki. Blinking away the dots dancing before her eyes, as well as making a mental note to keep better control over her emotions, Galatea stood from her crouch and arched a slender eyebrow. "Well, now that is interesting."

Starting down the ruined street, side-stepping fresh rubble, Galatea turned her gaze away from the source of the light and noted her three sisters descending from the roof where they had been observing her fight against the Voracious Eater. Disinterested she dismissed them from her mind, turning her attention to the village itself, giving it the serious consideration that she had been unable to earlier thanks to 'Hastur'.

The village was not very large, at most it would have had a hundred or so people living there, not some place a Yoma would be willing to fight The Organization for. Another oddity was the fact that the buildings were all still intact, barring the ones she and 'Hastur' had just demolished. But what really got her was when she finally reached the center of the village and found the corpse: It appeared that every villager, from the youngest babe to the oldest adult, had been gathered around the large tree that had dominated the village.

Possibly it could have been a village meeting, but after a closer look, it only raised even more questions. If they had been attacked during the meeting then why did it appear that all of them had been eaten where the stood? Not a single person showed signs of attempting to flee or fighting back, if anything it appeared that they had all simply stood there watching and listening as the Yoma fed on their family and friends while they waited for their own turn.

It was as if the whole village had gone insane and committed suicide in the most violently terrifying way possible.

Putting the implications of what it could mean aside she turned her attention back to her sisters, who were now gathered around the shattered stump of the tree discussing what appeared to be a body. Frowning she hurried her approach slightly sparing the Yoma that lay sprawled in an ungainly heap with its blood and gore seeping into the ground a brief glance, before turning it upon the body.

It appeared to be a wiry, white haired young man dressed in a purple tunic and grey pants, sprawled on the ground face down with his legs and arms spread akimbo. Galatea frowned, wondering as the others no doubt were, were this man had come from - it was if he had appeared out of thin air... or from a flash of light! Could it be that he and the tree had been tied together somehow?

"Where did he come from?" Lucia asked after a moment, crouching down to examine the man closer. "He hasn't been eaten and he clothes are definitely not from around here."

"Can anyone sense any Yoki from him?" Apolline asked, arms crossed as she considered him as well.

"None." Both Hilda and Lucia said, with Galatea absently echoing them.

Only, it wasn't entirely accurate to say that she didn't sense anything, because she did. But it was a strange sort of power, not quite Yoki and unbelievably weak – as if it were nearly exhausted. Which only served to pique her interest even more, could he have used this strange power to hide within the tree and if he had then could she learn something similar?

"This is going to complicate things." Apolline said, frowning down at the man, obviously debating on if they could afford to bring him along or not.

"We cannot just leave him here," Hilda said, her tone heavy "Just a causal glance tells us that even if he was conscious there is no way he could care for himself. If we were to leave him alone he would most certainty die and each of us would be directly responsible for it."

"So we take him with us," Lucia said with a shrug "There is a town between us and our target correct? We drop him off there and then continue on our way."

"I would prefer to know where this man came from." Apolline admitted, but clearly resigned to the fact that they would have to carry him to the next town. Shaking her head she turned her attention to Galatea. "Galatea, can you still sense our target?"

"His Yoki is faint, but yes, I am still able to sense him." Galatea said, her gaze turning northward as she extended her senses to their target "Our mysterious sister is still with him as well, he must be good company for her to stay."

"Good, that should make things easier when we approach them." Apolline said, her lips compressing into a thin line. "Can you get a clearer reading on its Yoki?"

"As I have said before, this 'Seraph' is suppressing his Yoki, making it hard to form a clear picture." Galatea answered with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Was it truly that hard to grasp such a simply concept, or was Apolline merely doing it to annoy her?

"Can you at least tell how strong it is?" Lucia asked, looking intrigued.

"Even for me, it is hard to tell at such distance." Galatea answered, frowning faintly as she pressed her Yoki sensing abilities to their utmost limit. Sensing the Seraph's Yoki was like grasping at wisps of fog. "His Yoki is utterly different than any other I have ever sensed, in every way that is possible for them to be different. It is impossible to explain the texture or nature of Yoki- "

"You are the only one that can explain what we are facing and we need to have an idea before we proceed." Apolline interrupted, and despite her emotionless tone, Galatea sensed her annoyance.

"Very well." Galatea said, fighting to keep her own annoyance hidden from the others, if for no other reason than to make Apolline look foolish. Closing her eyes, Galatea clutched at the faint Yoki, trying to wrestle a frame of reference from it. After several long minutes she finally opened her eyes, gazing at ht eothers who were staring at her with poorly hidden interest. "If you think of Yoki as fire then we and Yoma are bonfires while Awakened Beings are Forest fires. The Serpah, in this context would be a sea of lava."

At that the others grew very quiet and if possible, they each turned even paler.

"How could anything be that strong?" Hilda asked finally.

"I do not know," Galatea said, anxious at the prospect of meeting such a powerful being. "But it does mean that whatever the Seraph truly is, he has gained a fitting name."

Apolline glanced in the direction for the town they were heading for, and Galatea could almost imagine the gears turning in her head. "Hilda, you carry our 'guest', the longer we linger here the higher the chances of Luciela appearing."

"Right." Hilda said with a slight nod, stooping to retrieve the unconscious man.

"Once we've reached the town, Galatea and I shall continue ahead. We'll establish contact with our target, as well as his companion, and bring him back for the negotiations on forming an alliance."

* * *

The private meeting chamber was cold and damp, its shadowy darkness broken only by the sparse patches of weak light from the flickering torches that adorned the walls. On the part of the Organization it was designed to create a sense of unease and uncertainty within those rare few warriors they addressed in utter privacy, but it was also due to the impracticality of pumping heated air into the hidden chamber - especially for a private meeting of the Elders.

The chamber itself was currently only partially filled by four of the seven Elders. None of them spoke or looked at each other, simply standing unmoving, awaiting the one that had called the meeting. Chief Elder Rimuto - who suddenly emerged from the shadows of the meeting chamber, moving into a pool of torch light as silently as a dark wraith.

"Welcome," Rimuto said in barely audible tone, his dark eyes moving slowly from the gathered Elders. "As you might have noticed, this is to be a private meeting."

"What exactly is this meeting about?" Cyril asked, looking politely bored.

"About your recent actions in regards to my orders concerning the new presence in our land." Rimuto said with a shrug, settling his gaze upon Cyril. "I know if enough of you agree, you can act against my orders...but this time it cannot go without being commented on."

"You may comment however you like, but even if you hold the most authority, it is not absolute." Klaas said, with a blasé shrug "It is part of the balance that makes up this council, if we believe your decision a threat to our efforts of reclaiming our lands from the Dragon-kin we will act against it."

"I know that." Rimuto said, his dark eyes narrowing "The problem is that you have no idea why I made my decision and rather than asking me, you merely assumed that I was acting against our interests."

"Would you have told us if we did ask?" Aleksei asked coolly. "Besides, at this point it is pointless. You refused to let us attempt to capture or establish any contact with it and we have issued orders against this decision. It is done."

"Under most circumstances, no I would not." Rimuto answered sourly "But in this instance, when none of you have any idea what you are dealing with, I would."

"Then what is it?" Cyril asked his eyes blank and pitiless.

"As I said before, there is some information that only I, as Chief Elder, am privileged to." Rimuto said meeting and holding the gaze of Cyril "I'll start with a name, one that every child in our home lands know. The Second God-Sage of Shinobi Naruto Uzumaki."

The reaction was immediate - some muttered and shook their heads while others stirred uneasily where they stood.

"Impossible." Meine finally managed, though he didn't sound very convincing. "He died in the Last War, we all know that."

"Ah," Rimuto said, raising one long finger, the universal gesture for a moment of silence. "So our history books say, but we all know the legend."

"Yes, and that is exactly what it is, a _legend_." Cyril said coldly. "The devastation obliterated everything in the vicinity of the final battle. There is no way for him to have survived that. You will have to do better than some children's story about him being hidden away, sleeping until it was time for him to return."

"Somehow I find myself less than surprised at your reaction," Rimuto said his mouth twisting into a cold, terrible smile "Let me offer this, it is an established fact that his chakra is the only known source that could instigate the reaction in nature that we recently experienced. Also, another thing you should consider is that upon his death the demon he held should have been released, but it was not."

"Even if it is him," Cyril said, as the other elders eyes darted sideways at one another, "Do you truly believe our strength would be no match for him, given enough preparation? Or that the risk is so great that we cannot establish any kind of alliance with him?"

"An alliance would have happened in its own time, but now he will question our motivations." Rimuto said, his dark gaze sweeping over them as he added "As for our strength against his - He has fought demi-gods and madmen, shifted the entire course of the Last War, and is why the era of the Hidden Villages began to wane. So I ask you to contemplate just how _utterly insignificant_ our strength is compared to his."

To that there was only silence.


	10. Chapter 7: Travelling Companions, Part 3

:

:  
Claymore and Naruto: Children of Destiny  
**Scene 07: **Travelling Companion, Part 3  
by Geor-sama

* * *

Standing at a window, arms crossed, Hilda stared out over the street with a detached interest while following the movement on the street below. There were villagers bunched together near the corner whispering, casting what they thought were subtle glances in the direction of her window. Beyond them were crowded streets lined with workshops, shops and stalls of various sizes and types. Hidden from the public view were rats roaming through the gutters, crawling through the garbage between buildings and sniffing at gaps in the walls.

A sudden uptake in the noise from the tavern below briefly captured Hilda's attention - laughter and singing, overlaid with the sound of a faintly jaunty tune. It didn't hold her attention for long however and soon enough she returned to her detached observation of the street below her, filled with faint pity. These humans lived in squalor, believing it was what separated them from wild animals, that it was what made them different than the Yoma.

They had no idea that it was the fact that they could come together in peace and create communities, that they could form family's and love each other. Help complete strangers despite the inherent dangers the world surrounded them with. That they could dream and give birth to art, they could create things that existed outside of the natural order, sometimes simply for no other reason than because they could.

They would never understand.

With a heavy sigh Hilda forced her pity for them aside least it distract her from the far more important task at hand; Seles was a town of amusement and constant festivities, important to the local area's trade and safety. There were bigger towns and villages of course, but not by much, but Seles was the cultural hub of the area and that made it the perfect hunting grounds for both an ambitious group of bandits and Yoma.

Which had made it easy for Apolline to find them free room and a doctor to care for the unknown man they found, the owner of Floatsom Inn had been more than happy to exchange such things after they had slain the only Yoma present. Making one last sweep of the village, ensuring that there were no Yoma lurking within its borders, she turned away from the window to face the rest of the room.

There was nothing outstanding for such a place, the only real difference was that the only bed was hidden sight by a half-wall, giving a half-hearted impression that there was some level of privacy in the room. Over all it was small, warm and comfortable; far more comfortable than any of them were used to quite honestly, but it suited their purpose for the moment and that was all that mattered.

The sound of a creaking floorboard drew her attention away from the room and to the entrance to the private section, just as the overweight and middle-aged doctor emerged. His features were hidden behind a thin layer of dirt and a tangled beard, and he was accompanied by a musty stench that forced her to fight back an instinctive shudder.

"Well?" Hilda asked, expression neutral. No point in offending the man after all.

"He'll live," The doctor said, rubbing a moderately clean hand on his neck "His shoulder was dislocated, so I strapped that up. I didn't bleed him much, didn't want to risk it with how close he must be to the limits of his strength. But he's not hurt inside, or at least I don't think he is, considering he's not seeping blood from anywhere."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be." The doctor answered, "He was in a fight that much is obvious, but I think the biggest problem for him is exhaustion."

"Thank you." Hilda said, inclining her head slightly "Your efforts are greatly appreciated."

"Think nothing of it." The man said waving a hand dismissively, smiling at her revealing several missing and blackened teeth, but there was a genuine kindness in his eyes. "Now, when he wakes he'll need rest, along with food - best something simple like water and cheese, or bread and milk. Other than that, keep the windows closed tight as the last thing we need is for him to catch some sickness."

Hilda nodded wordlessly, signaling that she both understood and that he was dismissed and the doctor left, taking most of his odor with him. She wanted to turn and open the window so that the fresh air could clear the rest of it away, but he had told her to keep them closed. Instead she put it out of her mind since she would adjust to it soon and thus no longer register it, and moved to the mystery man lay.

Stripped of his clothes and bound with thick bandages, made him appear even frailer than he had before. But that was actually the wrong term he wasn't really frail but rather lean, the way she and her sisters were lean. Without his shirt it was even more apparent that he was a swordsman, for on his back and his shoulders there were the old faded scars one could only gain from serious encounters with both training weapons and live swords.

It piqued her interest, who was he and why was he in that village? How had they missed him, what was his connection to that flash of light?

Questions without answers, or at least they were until he woke up, but by then they would all be on their way back to their own posts. At least, Hilda hoped they would be, provided that Galatea and Apolline didn't provoke the Seraph into attacking them. To be honest, all Hilda wanted was to go back to her little corner of the world; there was simply too much pressure involved with all of this.

Just as her attention began to waver from the young man and turn toward other things, she stiffened refocusing all of it on his face. It had been only for a moment, a split-second really, it could have been a trick of light or her mind...but for a split second, his features had blurred. Frowning she moved closer, studying his features intently and then cautiously probed his face with her finger but nothing seemed to change.

"Hilda?"

"In here," Hilda called back, stepping away from the bed while at the same time keeping her focus on him. Registering Lucia stepping into the 'doorway' to the room, Hilda addressed her comrade "Did you find anything at the caves?"

"Slavers." Lucia answered blandly. "Is there a problem with him?"

"No." Hilda said, reluctantly accepting that it had just been a trick of her eyes. Turning she faced the other woman. "The doctor said that outside of the obvious there is nothing else wrong with him, but we are to keep the room tightly sealed to ensure he does not catch some illness."

"I see." Lucia said, then after a long pause added with subtle humor "I take it there is a reason, besides the obvious, why your here hovering over a helpless man's bed?"

"I thought-" Hilda started before pausing to reconsider her words while ignoring what her comrade had implied. "When I was turning away, I thought he 'shimmered', like a heat mirage."

"Ah." Lucia said, frowning as her own attention shifted to the man. "He seems no different."

"I believe it was nothing more than my eyes playing a trick," Hilda commented before squeezing past Lucia and returning to the rest of the room. She was followed by Lucia who took a seat on a nearby chair, crossing her arms and legs, studying her idly. Noting this, Hilda raised an eyebrow "Is there something wrong?"

"No." Lucia said, shaking her head "Merely bored. At times like this I often wish that I had a hobby like a normal person."

"The room has a few books." Hilda countered with a negligent gesture of her hand. "Which I am sure are far more interesting than watching me."

"Perhaps." Lucia conceded, before shifting topics. "Speaking of interesting things, the creature Galatea faced in that village was far more than a simple Yoma, was it not."

Hilda noted that it was a statement rather than a question, and a topic that none of them had broached. Leaning against the wall next to the window, she crossed her arms and nodded. "Yes, but what exactly it was escapes me. All I know for sure is that it was not an Awakened Being nor the typical yoma."

"True." Lucia agreed, then frowning added. "Though I think there is more to this than we first thought. Did you notice that the village possessed no church?"

"Yes." Hilda said grimly. None of them were the most religious of beings, but it was still disquieting. "Though sometimes smaller towns do not have proper churches, they still have a statue or some other dedication to the Trinity, but the village lacked even that."

"Do you think that it could be true, the rumors that our handlers do not wish to speak of?"

"It all seems to fit." Hilda said heavily, a chill crawling up her back. "I did not wish to think it possible."

"I know," Lucia agreed. "We will have to inform the Organization as soon as we finish this assignment."

"Still it seems impossible." Hilda asked after a protracted moment of silence. "How would a cult like this even start?"

"I do not -" Lucia started before cutting her sentence off as an torrent of impossibly powerful Yoki flooded their senses.

It was like an invisible hand pressing against them, trying to crush them to the ground, smothering their every sense, leaving them paralyzed like a bird before a snake.

Luciela of the South was here.

* * *

Pamela was far from the best of swordswomen within the Organization, such distinction belonged to Teresa, but she was still far beyond the skills that any human could possess. Yet as she parried a series of near invisible slashes from Naruto, she could experience nothing but shock; how could any human improve so drastically in such a short amount of time? Admittedly he had not been completely ignorant in how to handle a sword, but his prior skills had clearly been gained from casual observation of a single-edged weapon.

Still, to have mastered the basics of what she had taught him well enough that he could easily match her, it was seemingly impossible to fathom.

"You learn quickly," Pamela said as they disengaged and stood across from one another yet again. His posture was slightly off, but trying to use that against him would be impossible, he was a trained warrior and was watching her every move from head to foot unlike most others who would focus on only the torso or her eyes. Her best bet would to overtake him with pure speed, surging her Yoki Pamela shot forward blade sweeping down at a right angle, but cleaved nothing but air.

Spinning quickly Pamela blocked his counter-attack, the air filled with a ear-hurting 'clang' as there blades met. Skidding away from the impact, both came to a stop and stared at each other once more. Then abruptly Naruto shot forward, attacking her with flowing arcs of gleaming metal – but rather than attempt to block Pamela instead dodged away from his onslaught.

That was something else that shocked her, his ability to keep pace with her; much as she made use of Yoki to increase her strength and speed, he could do the same with his 'chakra'. Noticing an opening in his assault she swept her blade around in a large arc, batting his blade aside and breaking his momentum, following up with a punch. There was a sickening crunch as her gauntlet covered fist made contact with his face, but Pamela was more concerned with the fact that he had some managed to flip her into the air in the same moment.

Hitting the ground hard she rolled with the momentum, before regaining her feet in a low crouch, sword slashing around in a wide arc in case he was following up the attack. Noting that she had struck nothing she stood and turned to face him, unsurprised to find that he lacked any hint of damage from her punch to his face. As much as she didn't believe him to be a Yoma, Pamela also had her doubt that he was purely human, chakra she could accept but his healing was something else entirely.

"You have mastered the basics of the sword far better than I anticipated." Pamela said, holding her hand up to signal that the match was over. Sheathing her blade as his disappeared in a cloud of smoke, she added almost thoughtfully "I begin to wonder if you are something entirely different than either a human or a yoma. You're progress is nothing short of baffling and the passive abilities you display are far too useful."

"I'm humain," Naruto said with a wide grin, blue eyes almost mesmerizing from his joy. Stretching out his arms and back he added almost absently "Its' nice ya know, I ain't been able to do this kinda trainin since I was a lot younger."

"Oh?" Pamela asked, cocking her head slightly as she studied him, while fighting a grin at his unusual speech pattern.

"Yeh, when I got older my trainin started to lean towards 'if I don't learn this, then I'll let everyone down and won't be able to save anyone'." Naruto explained, eyes dimming as he seemed to stare off into the distance. He snapped his attention back to her soon enough, eyes bright once more "Anyway, thanks for the help."

"Do not thank me, it was only a necessary measure." Pamela responded, wondering if she would ever know the truth about who and what he was. Neither human nor yoma, he was an enigma but one that she was oddly happy to go uninvestigated, there was just something about him that provoked deep trust. It was a strange sensation, as a warrior she had been trained from day one to trust no one other than her sisters and the Organization itself.

"Still, thanks." Naruto said, shoulders slumping as he added. "I only wish I could figure out how to fix the problem with you trying to use my techniques."

"It was only a passing interest," Pamela said after a moment of surprise, shocked that he had been trying to figure out the answer all this time. Part of her wanted to tell him to not waste more time figuring such a thing out, the only reason she had even asked in the first place was to see his reaction. If he had been a Yoma, once its bluff had been called it would have realized it had no other option but to attack and try to kill her. "Still, I am curious. Have you at least developed a working theory on how it would become possible for me to perform the techniques?"

"I guess," Naruto said, scratching his head "I mean, the only thing I could really come up with involves modifying the seal. That way it would actively try and pull your chakra out along the proper pathways. Eventually you'd get the idea and be able to do it on your own or at least that's the idea."

"I see." Pamela said, disappointed that it would require more work on his part. From what he had explained concerning the glyphs, modifying them required a great deal of time and caution, lest something catastrophic happen. But there were far darker implications of what such a modified glyph could cause in the hands of a warrior, if it forcefully drew yoki out, if something were to go wrong, a warrior could go past their limit.

Naruto had no idea of this, or at least he had given no indication that he was aware of the risk. Worse, all warriors were under strict orders to keep such a thing from outsiders, as it would jeopardize their relations with the humans. This left Pamela in the unenviable position of triyng to decide on if she should caution him about what could happen, or to allow him to discover the problem on his own.

"Well we did find you." A new, feminine voice said as two women suddenly emerged from the shadows of the trees. The one on the left, who had spoken, was the youngest of the pair and a little taller than Naruto with long ash-blonde hair. The other was roughly the same age as Pamela, with straight pale-blonde hair. Both came to a stop, adopting casual positions while exuding power and authority.

"Impossible," Pamela murmured, staring at them in shock. "I did not sense either of you."

"Why be surprised," the youngest said with a small smile, even has her eyes locked onto Naruto "We are high ranked warriors, well versed in suppressing our yoki until such time as it is needed."

"I apologize," The older of the two said, giving her companion a sublet look of annoyance "I am Apolline, Number 7."

"Galatea, Number 6." The youngest added politely, her gaze however remained firmly fixed on Naruto – who was watching them both like a hawk.

"Pamela, Number 40." Pamela answered, wondering absently if Naruto had been able to sense them given that he wasn't surprised. Setting that aside for late consideration, Pamela instead chose to introduce him to the two new arrivals. "This is Naurto-"

"The Serpah." Galatea interrupted her tone bordering on excited.

"Are you kidding me?" Naruto suddenly interjected loudly "How the hell did you even hear that name?"

"We have been tracking you," Apolline answered, giving him a flat look "And your reputation has spread rapidly in this area of Mucha."

"Oh come on!" Naruto protested heatedly, his face now a mixture of resignation and annoyance. "I mean...not only do I get a nickname that's gonna tempt divine wraith every time its mentioned, but I can't even outrun it?"

"It is a little annoying is it not," Galatea added helpfully. "But it could be worse, you could be called the 'Loud Blonde' like a younger trainee I know."

"Why are have you been tracking him?" Pamela asked, cutting across the conversation, the last thing she needed was to listen to Naruto rant. Of course it also had something to do with the fact that self-recrimination for ignoring her first instincts concerning Naruto was beginning to creep over her: they had been telling her he was far from normal, but she had ignored that and instead begun to consider him a comrade. However, the fact that Galatea and Apolline had not launched into an immediate attack spoke volumes about the situation.

Still, she needed to know why they had been tracking him and if he was indeed a comrade or something so dangerous that even high ranked warriors were cautious to attack him.

"The Organization noticed his presence and sent us to make contact." Apolline explained, glancing at a now grumbling Naruto. "It was deemed best to establish contact as quickly as we could."

"He is not a Yoma, nor do I think he is a Voracious Eater." Pamela said, frowning as she studied the man who was now watching all of them with a deep caution. "They do not send high ranking warriors after humans."

"That is because he is not strictly human." Galatea answered, her focus on Naruto intensifying.

"Perhaps it would be best if we continued this somewhere else." Apolline said neutrally, taking control of the situation. "We would like to discuss certain matters with you."

"Right." Naruto said slowly.

Pamela for her part wasn't surprised at Galatea's 'revelation', but now that it was confirmed that her own suspicions were correct, she could only wonder what exactly he was. If he wasn't a Yoma, Voracious Eater or human that only left one thing - eyes widening she couldn't help but stare at him. Could it be, was he a Male Warrior?

"What?" Naruto said, with mounting bewilderment, noticing her look.

"We have a room back at an Inn the village of Seles." Apolline offered somewhat uncertainly, making a gesture for them to move along.

"What?" Naruto repeated, frowning as he looked at each of them in turn.

"You may come as well." Galatea said, pulling Pamela's attention from Naruto. "Your Handler agreed that it could prove helpful in our discussion with him."

"Very well." Pamela agreed after a moment, reluctantly following Galatea. She glanced back at Apolline who was staring at Naruto, who was staring after them all in mounting frustration.

"_**WHAT?"**_

* * *

Naruto wasn't entirely sure what to make of his new found companions, Galatea was roughly his age and she seemed to be keeping a close watch on him. Apolline on the other hand was not only older but far more aloof, a sort of detached interest that a lot of older ninja prized. But what made them somewhat confusing was the fact that he got the distinct impression that Galatea's attention was mostly superficial and Apolline was more interested in him than she let on.

Pamela on the other hand was utterly ignoring him and he had the distinct impression that he would need to smooth things over with her the first chance he got. She had been on her way to being a friend, and he would hate to for her to backslide from the belief that he had been manipulating her. Of course, if he were younger Naruto would have already started badgering her relentlessly, but he had grown up enough to realize that some conversations needed to happen without his pressuring it.

Sighing heavily, annoyed that he was being so adult about things, Naruto started to hum; not the ramen song since he didn't want to push Pamela's buttons. Instead, and quite unintentionally, he chose the theme for the Princess Gale movies, which were some of his all-time favorite forms of entertainment. Part of his fondness for them came from the story and themes, another part of it came from the intimate relationship he had eventually formed with the star/princess of Yuki no Kuni, but mostly it was the fact that Princess Koyuki was both a good person, great ruler and superb actress.

Unfortunately his fond memories, both perverted and non-perverted, quickly dissolved as he remembered both Sakura-chan who in turned reminded him about their last mission as Team 7. They had been assigned to protect the actress Fujikaze Yukie that played Princess Gale, who was actually a disguised Princess Koyuki in hiding from her Uncle. It wasn't long after they had secured Yuki no Kuni from the tyrannical Doto and Naruto convinced Princess Koyuki to take up her responsibilities, that Sasuke defected to join Orochimaru.

Mood turning sour, Naruto stopped humming and decided to give in and try to strike up a conversation. Of course for that to happen he needed to find a topic to bring up, but he didn't know enough to talk about anything they would be interested in. Of course, when in doubt the safest way to start a conversation was to ask about comrades, and the only one he knew that wasn't present would work nicely.

"Sooooooo," Naruto drawled "How's Teresa?"

"Teresa?" Apolline asked, involuntarily glancing at him while her voice revealed a hint of surprise.

"Yeah. Teresa, Number 1," Naruto explained, making sure to pronounce her name correctly. "I met her awhile back, first one too...she was travelling with a young girl, Clare."

"She is fine." Apolline said after a moment, turning away, but the tone of her voice said otherwise.

"Bullshit." Naruto countered immediately, before his common sense told him that he should have just stayed quiet.

"Excuse me?" Apolline asked, glancing at him once more, an eyebrow arching up.

"She's not fine," Naruto countered defiantly, guessing that he was supposed to be intimidated by that gaze. Unfortunately for her, he had stared down the likes of Orochimaru, Kisame, Pain and countless others. All of whom were a thousand times more intimidating than she could hope to be, hell even Captain Yamato was scarier than her. "I could hear it in your voice, something's wrong with her."

"I can assure you that there is nothing 'wrong' with her." Apolline countered, her gaze turning flat and emotionless. "The Organization deploys us in such fashion as to make keeping in touch most difficult. However, as she is the strongest of us, I doubt naught but an encounter with an Abyssal One would prove lethal."

"Right," Naruto muttered, realizing that he wouldn't be getting anything else about Teresa out of the woman or the others. "And I have a bridge I want to sell you in Mizu no Kuni."

Apolline ignored that, as did the others, leaving him with his thoughts which mainly centered on the fact that the timing of was suspicious. He didn't want to think of what it could mean that something had apparently happened to Teresa around the same time as he registered that massive surge of chakra to the north. But he had sensed other sources of chakra present as well, each nearly smothered... forcefully he shoved his thoughts aside, resolving that he would need to handle one thing at a time.

First he would see what these women wanted with him, and address the fact that they apparently thought of him a male warrior. Much like Teresa had suggested which raised another interesting train of thought, but one that he pushed aside for the moment. If they thought him a male warrior, especially one that pre-dated the first generation of Male warriors, they would make false assumptions about his abilities.

Silently he offered praise to his god-father Jiraiya, Naruto had been crafty on his own, but it was only due to observing the Sannin creating cover stories on the fly during their training trip the he had learned to let them make their own assumptions and to fill in the blanks as needed.

So, if he was going to use this to his advantage he would need to be careful with what he revealed Teresa already knew the truth, but he didn't see her saying a word about any of it. The only other person that knew any accurate information about him would be Pamela but all she could tell them was his name, age, the name of his village and a little about his skills. So all he would have to do is avoid saying anything contradictory to what he had already told her.

He was just starting to work on the exact details when they reached the stone bridge that led them pass a lonely farm, when Galatea brought them all to an abrupt stop.

"She is here."

Naruto blinked, glancing at each of those present; Galatea looked grim, Apolline looked pale, and Pamela looked slightly confused.

"Art you sure?" Apolline asked.

"It is impossible for me to miss such Yoki." Galatea answered, looking at Apolline "She has just reached the far side of the village."

"Uh, who exactly is 'she'?" Naruto asked, blinking in confusion. He had been too intent on focusing ahead of him that he hadn't paid much attention to anything trailing him, and from these women's reaction it was going to be something bad. Unfortunately, neither Apolline nor Galatea acknowledged his question, and fighting back a flare of annoyance he repeated his question louder on the off chance they had went deaf.

When that failed he reached out, grabbing Galatea by the shoulder, turning her to face him. "Who is 'she'?"

"Can you not sense her?" Galatea asked, her gaze turning to him, silver eyes intense.

"Not really," Naruto answered, meeting her gaze evenly. "I have to be actively looking to find anyone, and besides I don't know that many people."

"Then take a look in the village," Galatea said. "It will be impossible to miss her."

"Or you could just tell me." Naruto groused, but closed his eyes anyway slipping into the ebb and flow of nature. Instinctively he noted their chakra, familiarized himself with it, and then moved outward toward the village. He located two more sources of chakra, but was immediately distracted by a large source of 'yoki' – equal to what Ichibi and Gaara had possessed during the Chūnin exam.

Naruto had the horrible suspicion that was only the passive chakra that flowed through all living things at any given time.

"That is the Abyssal One, Luciela of the South." Galatea said, her tone grave, somehow able to tell that he found his target.

"What?" Naurto asked, opening his eyes to stare at her, and then Apolline and noticed the dawning terror in Pamela's eyes.

"Art you unaware of the great powers?" Apolline asked, "Luciela to the fair South, Riful to the rich West and Isley to the icy North. The three Abyssal Ones, whom slumber deep within the earth and emerge only to feed as they desire."

"Yeah, no, Tersea mentioned them." Naruto said, frowning as he focused his gaze on the distance "But I mean, why is this Lucy-whoever here?"

"They began to stir with your arrival, Luciela no doubt wishes to confront you." Galatea answered "She barely tolerates the yoma that infest her land, but she brooks no rivals to her power."

"It was hoped that we could extract you from these lands before she tracked you down." Apolline added.

"The plan must be reconsidered now," Galatea said, with a frown. "She has caught up with us, her speed is greater than we knew."

"With the village lost, as are our comrades, all we can do is head to the central lands and from there to the Organization in the East." Apolline announced, turning her gaze on Pamela "You will take point. Eliminate any yoma that are in our path. Galatea will provide rear guard, we will be travelling at full sped at least until we clear the borders of Mucha."

"Wait!" Naruto shouted, staring at the three women in mute shock "You mean you're just going to abandon your comrades and an innocent village?"

"We are under orders to both bring you back to the Organization and to avoid confrontation with Luciela." Apolline said, attempting an intimidating glare. "Luceila even now is consuming the villagers, and when she finishes nothing will be left save ruins."

"You can't just abandon them." Naruto said, struck suddenly by the sense of familiarity, wasn't this similar to what so many had tried to do throughout his life and during the war? Sacrifice friends, comrades and family to ensure his safety? "We have to stop her, we can save them."

"Impossible." Apolline said without a hint of inflection. "As I have already said, our orders are to flee from the Abyssal One. The villagers and our sisters are already dead, all we must now focus on saving our own lives."

"No." Naruto said in disbelief, releasing her and stepping away, glancing at the others only to find no support. He couldn't let this happen, not again and not for him, he couldn't save the world alone he knew that but he also couldn't simply abandon people for his own safety. Resolve hardening he swept his gaze from each woman before settling his gaze once more on Apolline, prompting her to take a half-step away from him. "You're condemning a village to die, and none of you have the damn guts to admit it's not because of orders. You're terrified! Well screw you, and your orders, I promised a long time ago that I would never let fear make me hesitate and I'm not going to let your's do it either."

"You cannot be serious." Apolline said. "The power of the Abyssal Ones-"

"I don't care." Naruto all but growled, cutting her off. "To many lives have been lost trying to 'follow orders' or trying to keep me safe from something. So on the memory of all those precious to me, on the dream of my sensei and my fellow student, I **will** protect this village."

"I will accompany you," Galatea said abruptly.

"Thanks." Naruto said, glancing from her to the others before taking off with Galatea hot on his heels, whatever protests they might have had lost to the rushing wind.

* * *

It was insanity Galatea decided as they rushed toward the village; it was the only explanation for what they were doing. Oh, she could explain it away as her merely following previously stated orders to do whatever it took to ensure the alliance. That was certainly going to be her defense once she got back the Organization and they yelled at her about doing something so reckless, but the fact of the matter was it was insanity plain and simple.

Emerita assured her that in time she would be raised to a much higher rank; her strength was greater than the Organization realized. But, those were only words and Galatea had learned to take anything he said with a shade of doubt - he never told her the whole truth, always obscuring whatever intentions he had. Sadly Galatea could not simply wait for her limits to be revealed over time, she needed to discover them soon if she ever desired to achieve her goal.

Galatea wanted neither strength, rank, nor praise: instead she strove for something far greater and far more elusive - Perfection itself.

Admittedly facing an Abyssal One would be the quickest way to discover the limits of her strength and the depths of her skill, but if it had not been for Naruto's speech Galatea would never have entertained the idea of confronting such a being. There had been something in his speech, something primal and so very human that broke through her ingrained fear, allowing her to willingly join him in this insanity.

Glancing at her current comrade, she was once more confronted with his primal nature; he was focused, but it was more than that. In the clearing, when they had first met him, being in his presence had been like facing an oncoming storm. Now, as she studied the way his posture adjusted instinctively to the terrain as they blurred toward their target, she realized that the storm was soon to make landfall.

"When we get to the village, you need to buy me some time." Naruto said calmly.

"Oh? Why is that?" Galatea asked calmly, wondering why he was asking her to do that. She could feel his Yoki, it was still restrained, buried deep within him, but if she stared too closely she would be blinded by its radiance. It amazed her as well, because at the speed they were travelling, he should have been drawing on it to keep pace with her, and yet he wasn't.

"I need to set something up," Naruto answered as the village came into view. "Just a few minutes, five at most, and then I'll be there."

"Very well," Galatea said after a moment, adding "considering that I am about to face a being of unimaginable power and strength, may I ask why exactly your plan for this confrontation is?"

"I'm going to punch her." Naruto said with a quick grin, as the now smoking village came into view. As they entered the village proper he added "Really hard."

"And if that does not work?" Galatea asked making sure to keep her tone carefully neutral, unsure of if he was being serious or not. It was hard to tell, but part of her got the distinct impression that if anyone would do something so foolish as to simply punch an Abyssal One it would be him. Of course he was probably the only one capable of doing such a thing and living through the otherwise suicidal experience.

"Then I'll punch her even harder." Naruto answered as they skidded to a halt. Even from where they were at, the sound of combat filled the air. "Be careful."

"I will give it my best effort." Galatea answered dryly before continuing onward, reaching the fight in a matter of seconds.

It had once been a market area, but now the area had been reduced to blood drenched rubble and strewn bodies; the only living things present were a gravely wounded Hilda and Lucia who were sprawled helplessly at the feet of another woman. Whatever Galatea had expected of the feared Luciela, it would not have been what she found - The Abyssal One of the South appeared to be nothing more than an attractive woman in her mid-20's, with long reddish hair tied in bunches and wearing a ruffled dark burgundy dress.

The only thing that gave away the fact that she was anything more than the woman she appeared to be was the fact that Galatea could feel the strength of her Yoki. Unlike Naruto Luciela was not suppressing her power, creating the impression that she was much larger than she actually was, like some unscable mountain looming over her. For the first time that she could remember fear began to slowly crawl its way through her body; her heart thudded painfully in her chest, her mouth was suddenly dry and her hands were shaking.

"Oh," Luciela said softly with a hint of disappointment upon finally noticing her. "You're alone."

"Excuse me, Abyssal One of the South Luciela," Galatea said forcible ignoring her mounting fear, seeking to present the image of politeness and calm, while reaching over her shoulder to grasp the hilt of her sword. "I am Galatea, Number 6 of the Organization. I hope you do not mind but I have come to-"

"You should run," Luciela interrupted her in a surprisingly kind tone. "I am only interested in the one you travelled here with. Little children such as you have no place here."

"I will admit, I appreciate the advice and agree it would be wise if I were to retreat." Galatea said, managing a faint nod. "Unfortunately, I cannot do as you suggest. I apologize for being so willful about this."

"Staying will only bring you suffering and pain." Luceila remarked with a heavy sigh, remarkable like a mother berating a child "I suppose there is no other choice then."

"Thank you." Galatea said politely before launching forward in a blur of speed, her sword plunging for the chest of the off guard Abyssal One. Her blow however was turned away with such overwhelming force that it nearly ripped the sword from her grasp. Spinning around with the momentum Galatea adopted a protective position, wondering what exactly she had just struck, whatever it was had been moving far too fast for her to see.

Frowning Galatea shot forward yet again, this time spinning her blade in a hard circular swing, only for it to be deflected yet again. The vibrations from the impact against that seemingly invisible barrier shot through her hands and arms, but Galatea wasted no time in launched into another and another. Yet no matter how hard or fast she attacked, Galatea was completely unable to either see what she was striking or to slip past it, and it would be utterly impossible for her to manipulate Luceila's Yoki as she did other Yoma or Awakened Beings.

"It should be obvious now that you are unable to touch me," Luceila said as Galatea spun away from her while adopting another defensive stance. Luceila only tilted her head to the side in passive consideration. "Shall I enlighten you as to what the difference is between us?"

"It would be helpful," Galatea admitted before unleashing ten percent of her Yoki and propelling herself forward with blinding speed. This time her assault was not only deflected but something hard slammed into her stomach sending her tumbling end over end away from Luceila. Panting as she recovered in a kneeling position, Galatea couldn't help wondering if she should even bother going even further into her Yoki.

"It is fear." Luciela said with a friendly smile "Fear of your own power. It cripples you, and because of this fear you are little more than an ant attacking a mountain."

"That is it?" Galatea asked flatly before hurtling forward once more, trying to muscle the Abyssal Ones Yoki into giving her an opening. Unfortunately it was proving utterly futile, but this only drove her to try harder. "No offense, but I was hoping it would be something more enlightening that."

"It _is_ still a core lesson of being a warrior isn't it? That fear of your own power." Luciela said, smiling pleasently. "That is the irony you see, your fear drives you until you achived that indescribable moment where you transcend it." Abrutply Galatea was sent flying away with a bone-rattling impact, crashing through a merchant stall before coming to a stop. "Until you attain that moment gersha, your fear will make you hold back."

Galatea said nothing in response to that, focusing instead on slowing her breathing and forcibly surpressing her yoki, aware that she had fallen into a trap. The longer the fight went on the more her frustration mounted, and the more frustrated she became the more of her power she unleashed. Luciela had been manipulating her the entire time and Galatea had fallen for it without even noticing.

"Ah, you noticed." Luciela said, her tone amused "You fight well for an inexperinced child, you grasped that you had no tactic to use other than to attack me directly. Now you also know that you must ignore everything I say, least you lose your human mind."

"This has been a learning experince," Galatea confirmed, resuming her battle stance, steeling her nerves.

"It's not over yet, gersha." Luciela responded lightly "It is a shame that you still haven't grasped the fullness of this lesson."

Galatea just barely caught the implication in her words that they held when her blade was torn from her hands, followed almost immediately by something cinching tightly around her throat lifting her off the ground. Hands coming up instinctively, she released her yoki in a vain attempt at pulling the thick appendage from around her throat, only for a jolt of pain raditaitng from her stomach to disrupt her efforts.

"You are somewhat interesting, do you know that?" Luceila murmured, finally releasing the throat of the now impalied Galatea. "It is a rare thing for a warrior to deliberately face me of their own will, and not only that, you have retained your confidence all this time. So as a reward for that, I shall not kill you."

"'m sorry -heh- are you -heh- hoping for thanks?" Galatea managed thickly, coughing blood, as she grabbed the slender arm that now extended through her lower torso.

"Not as such." Luceila admitted airly "But I do hope you'll answer my question. Can you remember a time before you were turned into the half-monster you are now, or have you completely forgotten the horror of your childhood?"

"I have -heh- forgotten my past -heh- because -heh- there is nothing -heh- in it worth remem -heh- bering." Galatea managed, eyes fluttering closed as she focused every erg of Yoki she had in preparation of rpaidly healing the massive injury she had sufferd. "All that matters -heh- is I am myself."

"I had a sister," Luciela said absently, yanking her bloodied arm free of Galatea allowing the warrior to fall to the ground. "Sometimes I can almost remember her."

"How-heh-nice..." Galatea grunted, dribbling blood as she concentrated on healing her body.

"Before you black out," Luciela said after a moment, staring at her in contempaltion. "I have to know, did you even once consider what exactly I could do to you if _**I**_ so desired to?" To illustrate this point, Luceila held her blooded hand up "I could hold your heart, right here, if _**I**_ thought it worth the time. I could strangle you with your own guts, if _**I**_ considered it worth the effort."

Galatea didn't bother responding; instead she was desperately focusing her attention on healing the damage before she blacked out. If she could just heal the majority of the damage she could avert the dangers that would follow her blacking out, because once she passed out Galatea would either die from blood loss or her body could quickly go past its limits as it funneled Yoki into her wound unrestrained.

"Are you ignoring me? I am Luciela -"

The rest of her rant was cut short however as she was sent flying with a loud 'crack', by a punch from Naruto who had seemingly appeared from nowhere sans red and black jeacket.

"What-heh-took you..." Galatea managed, refusing to look up at him, furious that he would have to see her in such a state.

"Yeah, sorry, had to settle an issue." Naruto said, his tone turning concerned. "Are you-"

"I will live." Galatea grunted, cutting him off, glancing up at him through a curtain of her hair.

"Alright," Naruto said reluctantly before turning away, cracking his neck and knuckles he stalked off in the direction he had sent the Abyssal One flying "Let's rock."

* * *

AN:

First let me apologize for taking so long in updating, but life has been one hit after another. I won't get into the details, I've already mentioned at least one part of it in an earlier Author Note, and the rest I doubt anyone really cares to hear about.

Secondly, to be perfectly honest I'm not entirely happy with some of this chapter, but I figure that it might just be me. I'm never happy wtih anything I write (or draw, or well...ever do). I finally just bit the bullet and accept that you will let me know if there is any flaw, or if its all just in my head. Also, I do this because I know that as much as you guys deserve an update, in 3 days I will be laying waste to a 'mythical race of sentient machines' and thus forget about pretty much everything but the essentails. So either I update now, or I make you guys wait for another month or two: I chose to be nice, remember this, it only happens once in a blue moon.

Anyway, enjoy the update.

Geor-sama


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